I believe in Miracles - Monday, July 25, 2016

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

Did Tanner's Eagle project go well? I forgot to tell you last week that Elder Cottrell and I are safe from everything that is going on. I will try to explain what Elder Cottrell does, It is better with actions and in person: "We are told in the white handbook to keep a bit of something to give to thieves" He then puts his hand in his pocket and then pulls out his fist. We will just beat em' up. Okay okay I am totally kidding. But in all seriousness, we are safe don't worry. I am so excited that you guys enjoyed the visit from the Williams. They came earlier than I thought. That red binder is a bunch of papers and notes and trinkets that I have acquired over the past. They are pretty cool. You are more than welcome to go through them, you might get a little taste of what has happened on the mission.

This week we have had many miracles again. I have been blessed to be apart of so many miracles throughout the Mission. I have learned so much from them and they are experiences that will be with me the rest of my life.

Joel is doing great. He is just diving into things. This past week we were able to talk to him about the Aaronic Priesthood a bit more. We talked to him about how he will have the opportunity to serve others and have the responsibility to hold this Priesthood as he is worthy. He feels as though this will be his way of doing missionary work and being able to help others, especially those who's testimonies may be weak. He will have an interview with Bishop this coming week and will receive the Priesthood next week. 

I can't remember if I told you about Ken. Well we found Ken just street contacting. He lives in the same block of flats as Karleen and Joel and many of our investigators. This block of flats was a jack pot. Well Ken is a character. He laughs at everything. Seriously, you say hello and he laughs. Well we were able to teach him the Restoration and he accepted everything. He said that he loves reading and wants to read the Book of Mormon. We explained to him that in order to find out if it is true he has to pray about it. He said that he would and that as he finds out the truth of it he will get baptized. 

Another miracle. We had some lessons cancel with us, so we decided to go by a referral that we got a few days ago. His name is Josh. Josh is 18 years old and he is really open minded. He told us that he went to the Mormon church when he was little. We taught him about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel and the spirit was really strong. He asked us how prophets are called and how we know that there is a prophet. We explained to him that God calls prophets and he gives them the priesthood. We then told him that the way to find out is through reading the Book of Mormon and praying. We were about to explain the feelings of the spirit and he then asked us about how we receive answers and we were able to explain to him about the Holy Ghost. He was so intrigued and he was really willing to read and pray. We are seeing him tomorrow. We scheduled him for baptism for the 13th of August.

Aimee is doing pretty good. We haven't been able to see her lately because she has been on holiday but she has told us that she knows it is all true and that she wants to get baptized. We are seeing so many miracles. Too many to count. I wish I could tell you of all of them. I am so grateful again that I have been able to participate in this great work and that I have been able to see Heavenly Father's hand working in my life and in the life of many others. This is all true.

I love you all and hope all is well with you.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Sunday Selfie! :) 

The deed was done. :)

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

First off before I forget, there is a young man serving in the Huddersfield zone called Elder Nielson. He is from Nephi. Well I got talking to him and asked if he knew Aunt Ilene and Doug. Well its a small world because he does know them. His father mows Aunt Ilene's Lawn I think. I will have to get a picture with him and send it home so Aunt Ilene can show his family. He is a great lad and such a hard worker. Also you will be getting a surprise probably on the 30th of July. I am not going to tell you what it is though! Haha! :) you will have to wait and see, but if I were you I would make sure you guys are in....and don't worry I am not coming home early, it is a different surprise. Tanner I knew you always loved me! Haha that is funny. Tanner you are a character.

This week has been so good. We have had many miracles and I have again learned so much. I can't believe how much I learn each week. Also lately I have been feeling as though I have very little time but I want to do as much as I can in the little time that I have.

Joel Wills was baptized on July 16, 2016. It was such an amazing thing to see. Joel has been so willing to keep all the commitments that we have extended to him. I have been so impressed by his faith that he has shown. He believes that it is all true and feels as though he will be able to make a difference in others lives with his conversion story. He sometimes tells us that he wishes he was born into the church so he didn't have to go through some of the things that he did but then he says that he knows that it is okay because he has had certain experiences which he might be able to share with others who are struggling with their faith. Joel is such a great guy. We were able to get so many of the members involved as well. I wish there was a way to thank all of them personally for all the things that they do for us and for the Lord.

We had a pretty interesting miracle with Karleen. So we went to see Karleen but she was sick. She was very very sick and couldn't see us. Well a few days later she explained to us that she hasn't been able to pick up a cig because they just make her feel even more sick. We then told her that maybe it is Heavenly Fathers way of helping her quit smoking. She said that that was exactly what she was thinking. She is going to stop smoking this week and we hope that from that point on we will be able to help her towards baptism again.

We also got in contact with Aimee. We taught her and a less active called Anabelle. Normally we teach both of them together. Well we have been at a loss of what to teach for the past few times, because we have basically taught everything. Well we felt inspired to teach about the Atonement and show the "Because of Him" Mormon message. This was one of the greatest lessons we had. Aimee opened up a lot and shared some very personal experiences with us. She told us that she knows that the church is true and that she still wants to get baptized. We rescheduled her for August 6, 2016. There are still just a few things that we have to go over and do before she gets baptized, but we are hoping that we will be able to move her baptism forward. Also another miracle with Anabelle. She has been struggling with reading her scriptures, and after we had the lesson on the Atonement the next lesson we had she had pulled her quad out and shared her favorite scripture with us. I just thought that is was really cool.

So we were at a ward activity but decided to leave early. It was definitely inspired though because we felt that we needed to go by some investigators called Veronica and Luke. We went by and it was a good thing because they have been struggling a lot lately. We listened to them and then explained to them that the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses family relationships and that if they trust us and more importantly trust in Heavenly Father they will be able to overcome these hurdles and they will start to feel more happiness. We committed them to meeting with us more often and reading the scriptures and praying together.

Carol and Thomas are so good as well. They take everything in that we teach them and they really enjoy it. Carol is working on quitting smoking and she really wants to. Well they weren't able to come to church yesterday due to other plans but we invited them to go to a little fireside the Stake President was doing. They came and had a great time. They don't really get out much, but they later texted us and told us that they had such a great night and were grateful for it. I feel as though the gospel blesses people in many many different ways.

There are so many other miracles. But some things that I learned was that first off like I stated before, the Gospel blesses us in many different ways. It blesses individuals. We just have to be willing to learn in and then live it. Also I learned personally that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there. I know I talk about this a lot. I was looking back and I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have helped me and my companions and investigators and many other people through so much. I don't think anything is possible without them. I am so thankful for this gospel. I love you all and hope you are well.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Joel's Baptism 7/16/16

'Everyone knows about my favourite place!"

I'm glad he still LOVES Utah!

Tyler has been spelling some of his words incorrectly (according to us) and I've been correcting them in his blog posts ...I'm thinking it is the "England way" of spelling words!  Today, with this picture above I decided to leave it the way he had spelled it so that in years to come we would be reminded of this! :) 

We have watched as Tyler's name has slowly moved up on this list over the past two years!  At times I wondered if this day would EVER come that his name would be at the TOP!!! 

With one of his good friends, Zac Jarman returning home from his mission on the 5th of July...it FINALLY happened!  :)

I decided to add the whole picture of the missionaries serving from our ward right now!  

The unpredicted Miracle

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

Well it is pretty crazy that this is my last transfer and it was definitely weird seeing my flight itinerary. This is a bitter sweet moment. I am excited to see my family but sad to leave (my) this great land of Britain! :) :( Well it seems every week I say another week of partying for the Rife family! Haha. It seems to me that you had a wonderful week. Nick is there anything that I can do for you? Thank you all for the Birthday wishes and cards. I really enjoyed getting them. President and Sister Turvey are great aren't they! I love em to death. It is great to hear Zac is back. His family is probably so excited. Austin sent a picture over and Zac looks great. Thank you for finding out those few questions. It is weird but now I can let my mind rest. Haha. I don't feel stressed about it anymore. Thank you for always being willing to help me out!

This week has been a week of miracles. But we actually had an un-predicted miracle. It was so amazing. So Joel is getting baptized on the 16th of July!! :) I was really bad because at the beginning when we first started teaching him I didn't really have the faith. Not because I didn't think he could make the date but because I didn't think he was sincere about it. So we met Joel knocking. He told us that we could come back. So we did. We didn't think that he was going to be in. But he was. We taught him about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He accepted everything. He had all the right answers. He has a great love for Heavenly Father. Anyway, we continued to teach him. We taught him all the lessons, and he said he even read to Jacob. Well that really surprised us. So we invited him to church. We decided that this is what was going to be the deal breaker. If Joel comes to church than we know that he is serious about this all. Well 2 Sundays ago he showed up to church. He loved it and said that everything just makes sense. We asked him if he is still looking forward to his baptism and he said yes. He said he is a bit nervous but he knows it is something that he needs to do. He said that he likes it because he is deciding for himself if these things are true. Joel looks the part as well. The first Sunday he showed up in a suit and stayed all 3 hours which isn't typical in England. It was great. We are really looking forward to Joel's baptism. We have a lot to plan for but we are super excited. The ward is very excited as well because they haven't had a convert baptism for almost over a year.

 

We also were able to get in contact with Karleen. We lost contact with her for a while. Then we just saw her on the street. She explained to us that she felt bad that she didn't come to church last week and so that is why she didn't answer her door. We went by and had a good chat with her. We just talked to her about how we are here to help her come closer to Christ. We told her that we will guide her down this path so that she can stop smoking and so that she will be able to get baptized. She told us that she is really happy and excited again. We are seeing her this evening.

We contacted Aimee again. We didn't think Aimee wanted to learn anymore, but on Tuesday a member rang us and told us that we were teaching her that evening. So we went to the church and taught Aimee. We discussed baptism and what it is. We also discussed how conversion is a process. We helped her understand that we will not know everything but that we learn over time. She told us that she received an answer and that she believes the church is true. At that point we asked her what she feels she needs to do next. She told us that she still wants to get baptized. So that is what we are working towards next. We are hopefully seeing her on Tuesday again.

We are seeing so many other miracles. Too many to speak of. I feel I have been very blessed over the past two years. I have been able to bear testimony to many many people. Which has made it so my testimony grows. I truly know that this church is true, and nothing is going to make me deny it. I also have learned that each of us go though trials. I haven't had the easiest of times but I have learned that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there right next to me. I am so grateful for that. I am not perfect at all, but I hope that one day I will be able to "feast at the Lords table" as dad would put it. I am grateful for the gospel and I am also grateful for all of you, especially my family, who have helped me and supported me through the mission but specifically through my life. I love you all and hope you are well.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Sorry no pictures. :( I forgot my camera cord. oops

Tyler didn't send any pictures but THANK GOODNESS his new mission president did!!!! :)

Elder Rife with President & Sister Turvey

Transfer Week...I am.....STAYING

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

Thank you for the Birthday wishes. I still feel the same though...an immature teenager. I'm gonna stay young, wild and free...haha okay maybe not. Well Thanks again. I hope that you enjoy the parade. I really love the parade and the 4th of July. It is one of my favorite holidays as well. I can't believe I missed Tim McGraw. I will have to catch him another time. Well to answer your questions. I am staying in Meltham for the rest of the mission. I am really excited about that. I am also staying with Elder Cottrell which is amazing as well. We are hoping to see some amazing miracles this transfer. I did meet the new Mission President. He is great and has a desire to help the mission "March North" I am excited for him and sad that I don't get to have the opportunity to work with him longer. I don't know about the plans for my departure yet. I am pretty sure I will get them in the next few weeks and you will get them as well. I have a few questions for you as well. What is happening for Uni? Do I have a schedule yet? Did Kynsie talk to that guy for work? If not maybe you could talk to Dan Williams and Uncle Scott, I would love to work for them again. Also do you know when I am speaking in sacrament, what is the topic, and how long do I have? WOW those are some really trunky questions. Well back to reality, oh there goes gravity, oh its not that easy. (Quoting Eminem)

This week we have seen many many miracles. The first, we have been working with Joel. He is a guy in his 40s. We knocked into him a few weeks ago. Well we have been teaching him for the past few weeks and he has been giving all the right answers. Anyway, he is scheduled for the 16th of July. We were kind of lacking faith that he was being sincere. So we talked to him about all the things that he has to do and the things that we have to teach him. So he told us that he can give up tea no problem, doesn't smoke, drink, or drink coffee. Which was a surprise. So we went on and talked to him about the importance of church. He told us that he understands it and would come. Again he was giving all the right answers. So we asked him if he still wants to get baptized and he said yes. He told us that a few years ago he would have never done something like this but then he had an experience that opened his mind to so much more and helped him have a love for God more. He said that he has kind of been wandering looking for answers. Well the Church of Jesus Christ has the answers. On Sunday he showed up for church and stayed the full 3 hours. Incredible! We were so happy. He really enjoyed it and was getting on really well with the members. After he asked us when we could come again. Elder Cottrell and I really think he will get baptized on the 16th of July and that he really and sincerely wants this. He is a great guy.

We had another great lesson with Ammad. He is still on the fence just teetering. He knows that this is all true and that he wants to get baptized and he wasn't telling us what was holding him back. Anyway he has been meaning to talk to his dad about baptism but hasn't so Elder Cottrell and I felt inspired to show him the little clip from Meet the Mormons about Bishnu from Kathmandu. It talks about how we can still like our culture and live the gospel. I feel like it really reached out to Ammad. We asked him to fast and pray to know what to do and also asked him to make a baptismal date for himself. So we are going to see what happens. Ammad is such a great guy and I know that he has felt the spirit, he knows that this church is true. He just needs a little bit more.

That same day that we saw Ammad another lesson cancelled so we decided to go knock. We both felt inspired to knock the street next to Ammads. So we were knocking and came across this guy. Well I nearly jumped out of my trousers because 2 big Rottweiler's came to the door and it scared me. haha, He then pulled them back and put them in the next room. He told us that they were really nice. I am always scared when a big dog comes to the door. When they come I always try and judge the height of the fence to see if I would be able to jump it! haha. But back to the miracle that I was telling. So anyway we started talking to this guy. At first I though he wasn't too bothered but as we got talking about the Restoration of the Gospel and about how their is away to find out for yourself he just listened so intently. We asked him if he would test it out and he said of course. He told us that he is really open minded and really wants to know what is out there.

There have been so many miracles happening. I know that Heavenly Father will continue to bless us as we are obedient. Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us. This is the true Church on the Earth. I know it and I love it.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

"We had  a ward activity...it was a Luau. They volunteered us to cut the pig...well there is a first for everything!"

"This is Ammad and us.  Ammad is the one with the beard and John Andrews is the one with the poofy hair."

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Have a wonderful day celebrating this wonderful country that we have been blessed to live in.

We Love America!