Ni How

Hiya Mum, Dad, and family, 

I can't believe General Conference is this up coming week. I am so excited for it. I love listening to General Conference! It is seriously the best thing in the world. Being able to listen to a living Prophet who receives revelation for us is absolutely amazing! I can't wait to hear from Thomas S. Monson and all the apostles. It is very sad to hear that Richard G. Scott has passed away, but I know that Heavenly Father will call another. I CAN'T BELIEVE BYU LOST!!!!! That is so dumb! Tanner are you staying caught up with your homework? Don't kiss anyone at the dance!! But I hope you have fun. You will have to tell me about all the fun you have! 

My week has been so crazy! Half of it I haven't even been able to understand! Haha. President Pilkington asked us to contact Chinese people half the time. So we have been doing just that. Elder Zheng and I have found a few really good Chinese people who are pretty interested in the Gospel. I try to explain in English but usually Elder Zheng just has to translate, but it is really fun and the Spirit is always so strong, even though I don't understand anything. haha. 

One time that the spirit was really strong was with a Chinese girl named Stacey. We met Stacey at the University and taught her the Plan of Salvation. We found out that her Father died just 4 months ago. She said that she knows that she will be able to see her father again, and that she wants to work towards being able to live with her family and Heavenly Father in the Celestial Kingdom. We invited her to be baptized and she accepted it right away. She said that it all sounds good and feels good. So we scheduled her for October 24, 2015. She wasn't able to come to church this week, but she said after this week she will definitely come every week! She is really nice and really open to the message that we have to share. She is definitely in tune with the Spirit and it will be so good to see her come to a better knowledge of the Gospel and gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith!

Another miracle Chinese is Joy. Elder Zheng contacted her and we just invited her to come to a baptism. She said that she would love to come and that she really wants to know more about what we believe. She actually speaks really good English so I understand her! haha. She then showed up at the baptism and said it felt really good and so we invited her to church. Well she came and she loved it! We are going to meet with her this week and teach her. It was so cool to see that she felt the spirit and we haven't even taught her yet!

We got a referral from the Mission office this week, which very rarely happens. The mans name is Max Romain. He is super cool. We went by and he told us that he became interested in the Gospel because he saw the Book of Mormon musical 2X. He said he loved it and because of it he wanted to know more about the Book of Mormon. So we taught him about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He said that he would read it but then he said that before he is baptized he wants to read the Book of Mormon because being baptized is a big commitment. I think that he is interested and if he puts in an effort he will find out that this is true.

As for our finding miracles of the week. We found a guy by the name of Peter. We stopped him in the street and we got talking about football (soccer). And it was so weird because it just smoothly flowed into the Gospel. We got talking to him about how science and religion go hand in hand. He said that he is open to knowing more about God and wants to know how science and religion go hand in hand. He is super good. We are going to go see him this week. 

The other finding miracle is of a girl named Katie. We just asked her for directions, she asked us where we were from, she told us that she loved traveling and is studying right now and although she isn't religious she thinks that there has to be something out there! She invited us over at the weekend. 

Well so many other things happened this week. I guess I shouldn't have complained last week! Haha. Heavenly Father really does bless us, we just have to open our eyes and our ears to see the wonderful blessings that are in front of us. I know that Heavenly Father does bless us as we are obedient and faithful. He loves us and wants us to be happy. I know that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and that he restored Jesus Christ's church back to the earth. We do have a living prophet today. I love you all and hope you are all doing absolutely amazing. If there is anything you need let me know! 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Elder Rife and Elder Zheng with Stacey

"She is so awesome. This is when we taught her at the University."

Elder Rife and Elder Zheng with Frank

"He is an investigator.  He is a funny guy...that is all I'm going to say."

Little side note: This week in Tyler's email he has spelled his companion's name as Elder Zheng!  All the other emails before today he has spelled it as Elder Jeng.  Still the same companion...no changes on that.  I will have to ask him about this!  :)

Everyone plays a part

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

How are all you doing? Tanner did you cheer for the Powderpuff game? haha! Wake up dad, the days are going fast and you can't miss out on anything!!! Well how are Kynsie and Kendra? I haven't heard from them or about them for a while. Are they still alive?! I'm telling ya dad you gotta let me come with you to England!!! Thank you so much for keeping my bank account up, I guess I will just have to keep running on fumes!! :) It sounds like you are all doing good, even though you are tired dad! haha. 

This week has been pretty good for Elder Jeng and I as well. We definitely have had ups and downs but that is apart of missionary work, well it it apart of life! Without the ups and downs, life would just make you dizzy!! 

First off I guess, Karis is doing alright! She likes learning about the gospel and coming to church for the first hour....but she gets tired really easy and goes home. We are trying to help her understand that she can learn so much more as she stays all three meetings, but we can't figure out how. Any suggestions? 

We were trying by all these people one day and NOBODY was in. We got flogged so much and nobody wanted to listen to what we had to say. Elder Jeng and I were talking and we came to the decision that we were just being tested, that Heavenly Father wants us to learn something. So we kept going. Well we were walking to try by a potential and this lady called to us outside her window. She asked if we were Christian, we obviously said yes and she said me too! She asked if she could come to church. We then said yes of course. She then invited us into her house. So we walked in she has a little daughter and doesn't have much else. We talked for a while. She told us that she loves Jesus Christ and just wants to do the best that she can to follow Jesus Christ. We taught her about Baptism and told her that that was the way to show Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that she was willing to follow them. She accepted it. Her name is Alzbeta and she is from Hungry. She told us that she had prayed the day before to know what church to join and said when she saw us, she felt it was the right thing to do. Well we have only seen her  twice but hopefully more will happen. I know that if she reads the Book of Mormon and Prays she will find out that what we are saying is true. We will see! 

To be honest we have just been doing a lot of finding all week. It was a hard week because we were both tired and quite a few people are not too interested. I find it really sad when people don't have a belief in God. I just think...come on people!!!!!!!!!!!! But we found some good people we are going to go by this week so just pray for us! haha! My email was short this week too!! haha. We are even! 

Something cool I learned this week was something that most everyone knows and even I knew it. But it just stuck out to me this week. I learned that each one of us are very special. We each have special things about us. Heavenly Father has created us by design. He has designed us for a certain things, certain people, certain purposes. Sometimes we just have to dig a bit deeper to find out who we are. But I think if we each know that Heavenly Father loves us so much and know that we each play a part in his great plan of happiness, we will one day find out who we are and be able to move forward. I love you all and hope you are doing well. Thank you so much for being apart of my life. You have all played a part in my life. 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

 

"My pancake turned into more of a volcano!"

Guess Mom should have involved Tyler in a few more cooking lessons before he left on his mission!!! :)

This is definitely an interesting pancake! 

  

So Happy! :)

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

Tanner I am so happy you are swimming again! You will do so good! Just work really really hard and it will pay off! You will have to help me get back into shape! :) It sounds like your week was just absolutely amazing! Dad you can now say that you have frolicked (I think that is how you spell it) in the fields with a lion! Haha. That is so cool. I love all the pictures and the wonderful news on Provo High and BYU! So exciting! Well transfers are here already! They go by so flippin fast! I can't believe another transfer is starting! The good news is that I am staying with Elder Jeng in Leeds 1. We are so excited! It will be so good! We have so much going on and I know that we will see so many miracles! It will be exciting! 

As for my week. The first miracle! KARIS WAS BAPTIZED!!! It was such an exciting thing that happened. She would not stop smiling. It was so good. At the baptism the spirit was so strong and I know that everyone there felt it. Karis is doing awesome. She really knows that the church is true and she said that she is excited to learn more. She doesn't know yet but she says she believes it and hopefully one day she will know! We told her that she would know! It was so exciting. But stressful at the same time. 2 people on the program didn't show up until 2 minutes past the service was supposed to start. I was running about so afraid and like nobody was showing up. So we said a little prayer at 7:25, The baptism was supposed to start at 7:30. We just begged that people would show up and especially the people that were supposed to say the opening prayer and give talks! Well 2 minutes until it started people started showing up and then obviously the people in the program showed up. It was so scary, I was so stressed out but then everything turned out okay. Heavenly Father answered our prayers! It was so good! Karis loved it and is excited to learn more. 

So remember Max? Yeah so he flogged us at first but then on Friday we ran into him and he said he was so sorry because he had to go into work, but that he still wanted us to come and meet with him. So we went back on Saturday and had an awesome lesson with him. He was really interested and said that he likes it and that it all makes sense. We then invited him to find out for himself. He said he would read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it is true. He said he would and so we invited him to be baptized on the 10th of October. He said that he didn't know if he would be able to make it but he said he would try. Well I guess that is all that matters...if he tries! We are seeing him again for sure on Saturday but we will try and see him before then! 

We were also teaching this Slovak girl who is called Maria, she speaks some English and understands most of it. Well luckily there is a member who speaks Slovak. He came teaching with us and we taught her and her auntie Gabrielle. We taught the Restoration to them and they said that they believe it but they still want to read the Book of Mormon and Pray. They are leaving to Slovakia for a bit so they are going to work towards the 30 of October to be baptized! But are really nice and it is cool to see the gospel being translated. When I came to England I thought I would be teaching English, but instead I am teaching Slovakians, Russians, Africans, and English people! The Gospel is being preached to the whole world! 

I love this Gospel, it is so amazing. I know that Heavenly  Father does answer prayers and he cares about us so much! He loves us and knows each one of us by name. All we need to do is kneel down and talk to him. I love you all and hope everything is going well. 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

"As for my week...The first miracle!  KARIS WAS BAPTIZED!!!"

Elder Jeng and Elder Rife

Tyler is always doin the thumbs up thing in his pictures...not sure why!  Perhaps it is automatic whenever a picture is taken!  :)

Steve woke me up bright and early this morning at 4;49 AM calling from Atlanta, Georgia.  He has been in Africa on business for the church for nearly the past 3 weeks. I had just hung up the phone when Tyler's email popped up on my phone.  I quickly responded to Tyler's email before reading it hoping I might catch him and get to chat for a bit.

It was 5:05 AM but who cares!  I got to communicate with my son!  Technology is wonderful!  

Anyways...Tyler emailed on Tuesday this week instead of Monday because it was transfers. He wrote this little note to me and I thought I would share it on his blog.

"I am so excited to be with Elder Jeng, sometimes I don't understand him, (insert from Mom...because of the language barrier :) ) but we get along so well.  I love the guy!!"

Such a blessing to hear this from your son!  So glad he is being blessed with wonderful experiences and is able to share them with wonderful servants of our Father in Heaven.

Keep working hard boys and DO GOOD!

Miracle after miracle

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

Oh my goodness, The pictures are amazing! Thank you so much! :) I love you guys. So I set up an appointment with another dentist last week. Sister Pilkington said that they were really good. It is only a check up so we will see what happens. It is crazy though because even though I have a hole in my tooth....it doesn't hurt! I think it is Heavenly Father blessing me, so I can keep working! :) Africa looks so beautiful Dad. It looks so humbling though. It makes me sad to think that there are places like that all over the world and then we just sit back and hardly do anything. I wish I could do something to help them. I'm sure they were so happy to see you Dad. And I know that you made a huge difference. Tell me some more cool stories from Africa! Tanner, how is Provo High doing? I loved it there. Are you going to swim this year again? Please do it!! Kylee are you excited for school to start? How are Kendra and Kynsie doing, and Kate and Nick and the beautiful little girls? Is Aunt Ilene doing better? How is Grandma and Sister Rawcliffe? Is there anything I can do to help you all out? It sounds like you all had a really good week! I love you guys. 

As for my week, we have seen so many miracles happening! It has been a great week. I guess the first miracle is about Karis. SHE PASSED HER BAPTISMAL INTERVIEW!!!! She is on her way to being baptized this Saturday at half  7! It will be so exciting, but here comes another crazy stressful week, full of preparing and organizing the baptism. She has a really cool story. When we met her she didn't really believe that Heavenly Father was there, she wanted to know though. Well we promised her that if she read the Book of Mormon and Prayed, she would get an answer. She didn't believe us at first but after about a week of reading and praying she said she believes now. She said that Alma 32:17-18 stuck out to her. It talks about having faith obviously but she said that it just hit her and at that point she just decided to have faith. Sometimes we just need to have faith, we need to know that Heavenly Father isn't going to do anything that will harm us, so we need to trust in him and know that he will bless us! 

We met with Georgia again. She told us that she has had answers to her prayers. She said at first she didn't really care but small things have been happening and she knows that someone is there blessing her, guiding her, and protecting her. She has started reading and praying, and said she would try and start living all the commandments. She is scheduled for September 26, so who knows what will happen. We might be seeing another miracle here soon. 

Well last week I told you all about Isaac. He is an interesting lad, haha. He is an artist, and a really good one to say the least. He has a lot of interesting views on religion and said that he is happy where he is and just likes to chat about religion, he is super open minded, so I think that eventually as he reads the Book of Mormon he will see that it is the key to finding happiness. 

As for our finding miracle of the week. We have had a few. First we have been trying to find a family to teach. We have been fasting and praying to find a family. We definitely need to be looking harder, but we did potentially find a family from the Caribbean who were super nice and said we could come back whenever. Maybe this is the family! :) Another miracle that happened was with this lady who has been taught by missionaries before, she knows Elder Ferguson (my Trainer) because he served here. We set up a return appointment for Thursday. We are super excited and she was super excited to see us.

Something I learned this week: I learned that the Book of Mormon is really the Keystone to our religion! As you read it and find out that it is true, everything falls into place. Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God and therefore, God lives and he has restored his gospel to the earth today! I love the Book of Mormon, it is absolutely amazing. I hope you are all reading it! :) I love you all and hope that all is going well! 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

NO PICTURES from Tyler today so I thought I would share this one!  

This was posted on fb from my friend Caroline who I have come to know through Tyler.

She was so kind to our son while he lived in Bridlington for 7 1/2 months 

and 

now is my go to person whenever I have questions.  She is WONDERFUL and although I have never met her in person I feel like she is one of my best friends!  :) 

Her comment on fb was, "Saw this and thought of you. :)" 

I LOVE THIS and I know ALL the other missionary moms out there will LOVE it too!

How can you not love Meg Ryan and  the movie You Got Mail and then when it is paired up with Missionary Moms on P-day...???!!!  :)

HAPPY MONDAY ALL!!!

smile emoticon

Uhhh I don't know what to title this!! :) - Tuesday, September 1, 2015

We did not get an email from Tyler on Monday morning like we normally do and we knew it wasn't quite time for transfers yet... so we wondered if they were having some kind of holiday.  Love having connections with people who have been so good to our son over in England. :)  I messaged Caroline by way of fb and sure enough they were having a bank holiday.  We kinda figured that might be the case and that we would hear from Tyler on Tuesday. 


Hiya Mum, Dad, and family, 

So just a quick update on my tooth, I will send a picture, but it is a pretty big hole and Sister Pilkington said to go to the dentist to get it checked, and then go from there. I hope you guys don't kill me...but I don't really want a hole in my tooth. It will cost a bit of money, about £65ish. I am so sorry that I am always getting myself hurt or having to go to the doctor! I will make it up to you all one day. Oh my goodness Dad you flew over Leeds!!! Haha I probably saw the plane! :) How is Ghana, and South Africa? That would be so much fun to travel around like that. And the Ghana temple looks so pretty. Grandma, Happy Birthday! I forgot to tell you happy birthday in your letter, I hope you can forgive me. I hope you had just a fantastic day! It sounds like you all are having a good time in Utah and that you are now trying to keep the Sabbath day more Holy. I know that we can grow so much more, spiritually and temporally if we keep the reverence of the Sabbath day and always remember Jesus Christ. I love that we have the opportunity to take the Sacrament every week, it is just an amazing experience. Thank you for the advice to keep going. I hope I will be able to do my best this next year! 

Well as for my week, so much has happened. It always seems like the small miracles are the best...and the scripture just popped into my mind "by small and simple things, great things are brought to pass" So I guess, it really is the small miracles that matter the most. 

So first Karis and Louis-Well she is wanting to be baptized on the 12th of September, she has a few concerns about some commandments but said she still wants to pray and read the Book of Mormon and be baptized. She has come so far in just 3 weeks, it has been an amazing thing. We have seen her come to a greater knowledge and at first she didn't even know that she was receiving answers, but now she does. We are going to set up her baptism and go from there this upcoming week. It will be so good. We are so excited so please just keep her in your prayers that she will be able to make it for the 12th. Louis is her boyfriend, he isn't as interested but I think that the more we teach him the more he feels of the spirit and the more he wants more of those feelings, so we will see. It would be way cool if both of them were baptized and maybe eventually married in the temple. Who knows, God works in mysterious ways. 

So we have been working with a less active family lately. They are really cool. Alice and Lee were just baptized a few years ago and they love the church, they really want to come back but are having a few troubles. They love their family and know that the church is true, they are just needing a bit of encouragement. Any advice? Lee said that he wants to receive the Priesthood because his daughter Natalie would like to be baptized and he hopes that he will be able to baptize her. They have the real intent and the desire and I know that Heavenly Father will bless them as they try their hardest to be obedient and come back to church. They have definitely seen the blessings already and have seen that they are only blessed. 

Well do you remember Georgia, so we were teaching her, and then she kind of told us that she would get in contact with us. Which normally that means they don't really want to know anymore. A miracle happened just a few days ago. We were planning for the next day and we got a text from Georgia asking when we were free, she told us that she has felt somethings change and she wants to learn again. We set up an appointment for this evening. It wasn't a big miracle but I think that Heavenly Father has blessed her and he wants her to know about Him and His church. So we will see where this goes. It will be good though. 

As for our finding miracle of the week. We were walking alone and stopped this guy. I can't even remember how we stopped him, but we got talking and found out that he is an artist and has a plot of land in Arizona. He believes that their is something out there but doesn't know what and so he wants to find out. He gave us his phone number and address and we are going by tomorrow. It will be good. Before we left he said ya know I am really excited to chat with you guys, he really looked interested. It will be good. 

As you can see so many things are happening, they may be small miracles but they are miracles none the less. By small and simple things, great and marvelous things are brought to pass! I love you all and hope you are all happy. I sure am happy!!! :) I love this work and I love my Heavenly Father and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is true and it will only bless our lives, we just have to take a step into the dark to find the light. I love you. 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife 

Karis and Louis at church with Elder Rife and Elder Jeng