Teetering on the edge of everlasting life - Monday, May 16, 2016

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family

Time really has been going by so quickly. I cannot believe it. There is so much to do and so little time. But I guess like they say take life as it comes and continue to look to the Savior....I don't know if they actually say that but whatever. Haha. I haven't got the letter yet but I should be getting it very soon. I'm glad FHE is going So well. I love FHE. It honestly is great. That is interesting about Dad's roots, but super cool as well. What Mum...you have been lying to me??? I have been telling people that you went to school with Donny, because English people love the Osmonds!!!! Oh my gosh I am going to be held accountable for lying to people now!! Just kidding but really. Happy Birthday Tanner. I can't believe that you are an old man now! We will have to catch up on loads of things! I love ya brother.

This week has been good. First you gotta give me credit for my email title. I will explain it. So many people we are working with have been teetering on the edge. Just trying to get an answer. 

Sue for one. She is so amazing. Sue has been meeting with the sisters as well to kind of help her a bit. We thought that it would help her because the sisters can go by whenever they want to see Sue. We were only able to see Sue once this week and then at church. But she informed us that she hasn't been reading because it is confusing. So we gave her a children's Book of Mormon and committed her to reading it. We were able to bear testimony of the power which comes from reading the Book of Mormon. I truly know that it is the word of God. I also know that when we read it, it helps us to know of the wonderful gospel, which then leads us to seek and inquire of the Lord to know if it is the word of God. I have received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true and my testimony is strengthened every time I read it. I learn something knew everyday and I love that Book. Sue is just on the edge. I know that if she reads the Book of Mormon she will receive a solid answer that it is true and that will then lead her to make more promises with our Father in Heaven.

So we have told you about David May. He is a less active member but is working on coming back. He is amazing as well. We lost contact with him for a little bit but finally got in contact with him. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and I am pretty sure he taught us more. David knows so much about the gospel and he knows it is true. 

Eloise came to church on her own this week. It was so crazy cause she was like "can I come to church this week?" and we were like "haha yes of course". When she came to church this week she got fellow shipped so well. She was just going to stay for 2 hours and she was going to come to our class but the YSA were amazing and just treated her like they had all been friends for life. She ended up staying for the full 3 hours and she loved it. Eloise is working towards the 28th of May to get baptized. She has told us hat it all makes sense and that it makes her happy but she just doesn't know yet if it is the right thing to do. I think she is just afraid about making he commitment which is understandable. But we are just trying to help her understand that baptism is just a gate to many more blessings. I have a good feeling that she will get baptized. Cross our fingers and pray like none other. 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Happy Mother's Day - Monday, May 9, 2016

Heya Mum, Dad and Family,

 

It was so nice talking to everyone. It seems like you all have changed loads and become better. I was so happy to see everyone. It seems like FHE is paying off, it really does bring everyone closer. Something that was mentioned in Sacrament this week was we need as families to do more than just have family prayer and family scripture study. Satan is working really hard to tear the family apart and he is giving it his last hurrah because we know that the "times are nigh at hand". Seeing everyone always lifts my spirits. Sounds like everyone is staying busy and having a good time.

 

Miracle story. Elder Bailey and I were walking home one night and this guy stopped us! What?!!! That never happens!? Yes this guy stopped us and said that he needs help sorting his life out. His name is Tony. We talked to him on the street for a little bit and then asked if we could come over the next day. So we did. We went over and he told us about all the things that he is going through and how he wants to change his life. So then we shared some Mormon messages with him, the "Because He lives" one and talked to him about the Atonement, we kept trying to share the Plan of Salvation with him but it kept going back to the Atonement and the Addiction Recovery Program. So we explained to him that the Church provides things that can help him change his life and we explained that the messages we share changes peoples lives as well. We then talked about how baptism is a way for us to be cleansed from sin and have a fresh start. We invited him and scheduled him to work towards the 11 of June. We know that it is soon but we also know that Heavenly Father is a God of miracles. He may not make it for him to be baptized that day but he may be able to change his life around. We are excited to see him again.

 

Well Eloise and Susannah are the only two left talking to us. They have stuck it through. We are almost finished teaching them. They have come to church are reading and praying, they even attended a baptism. And they are still struggling with receiving an answer. We have a feeling they are afraid to give up some of the things that they like to do as students. So our plan with them is to finish teaching them the commandments and invite them to make a decision whether this is something they want to do or not. I know that they have felt the spirit testify to them that this is true as well, they just have to decide to decide. They are great people.

 

We have been seeing many many miracles but I think the greatest miracle was something I realized myself. I was pondering last night some things. I was thinking of all the things that I could have done, which I still have a lot that I could have done. I also realized that although I don't have much time left, I still have time. I need to use that time to the fullest. I am not finished with this work. I still have a lot to do and a lot to become. I also realized that maybe I wasn't seeing the full picture. I was too worried about what I could have done and didn't see that maybe just maybe Heavenly Father has been using me to his purposes. Heavenly Father's plan for me maybe wasn't to baptize England...all though that would have been nice....maybe it is just to plant the seeds for others to harvest. It is so simple, I completely missed it. But now I see the big picture. I made a deal with myself that I am going to just keep going, and I am not going to look back. There is so much that I need to do and I need to rely on Heavenly Father more. I really do love the Gospel, it has helped me so much. It is amazing. Love you guys. If there is anything you need let me know.

 

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

Keep on Truckin' - Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

First to answer your questions, I do know Elder Davis Crabb. He was
such a great guy. He was a really good example to me and a great
missionary. He was one of my first Zone Leaders almost 1 1/2 years
ago. Crazy how time has gone by. Preparation day was changed to
Tuesday this week because of bank holiday, so the libraries were
closed yesterday. I will be skyping Kynsie's account at12 noon your time if
that is still okay. I still need to find a place to skype though.
Don't worry about me I am fine. However, last week I got a really bad migraine.
They don't happen very often and really usually I am just able to take  
some Tylenol and it most of the time makes it not as bad. However, this  
week I haven't been the best. You know the saying...You are burning the 
candle at both ends?  Well I did that.  I was worrying too much and
stressed out trying to help people from our teaching pool that have dropped
off the radar so I was very stressed and was exhausted to the point that I was 
up throughout the night throwing up and very sick to my stomach. Some of 
it was probably food poisoning but my whole body just feels like it can't move 
right now. I am doing good though. Elder Bailey gave me a blessing and I 
have been resting. I think the problem was I realized that I don't have all the
time in the world and I realized I needed to be better so I pushed myself
beyond my capacity. But please don't worry I am doing good now. I just keep 
on truckin'.

Tanner you stud you! You are having so much fun in Student Government
aren't you. That is really good. Student Government was one of my
favorite classes and things to do. But remember as well to put the
most important things first. Which is family. I didn't realize this
until I was well into the mission. I found out that my family means
the world to me. I wish I would have treated everyone better than I
had. Family is the most important thing that we have. We gotta stick
together. Every week it sounds like you are all very busy and enjoying
life. Getting really involved in life. But don't get so caught up in
life that you forget to smell the roses. I can't believe Provo High is
moving. Where to? Goodness gracious...first Grandview and now Provo
High. Where are my schools going?!!!

This week has been a little bit tough, but Elder Bailey and I have
just been truckin'. Elder Bailey is such a good missionary. He really
doesn't deserve me as his trainer. I have so many imperfections, I
have learned more from him than probably he from me. Unfortunately a
few of our investigators have dropped off the radar. We haven't been
able to contact some of them which is pretty annoying but on the
bright side we still are seeing miracles.

Sue is absolutely amazing. The past few days we haven't been able to
contact her. Please pray for her. We think something is wrong with her
Mum. But we figured out something very important with Sue. So she
unfortunately isn't going to be baptized on the 7th of May, which is
so sad, but she told us that she will one day. She explained to us
that she knows everything is true. She has taken bits and pieces from
other churches and put them all together and then she realized that
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has everything that
she already believes. She knows that she needs to get baptized and she
knows that all of her questions will be answered eventually but she
said right now she doesn't have the desire. She said she has been
praying for a desire and thinks maybe it is just because she isn't
ready. We also believe it is somewhat social as well. We have been
taking members  by but I still don't think that she feels like she is
part of the Ward. So our plan now is just to help her gain a desire,
which will come over time. Sue is such a wonderful lady. I know that
she will enter into the waters of baptism. Maybe not for a little bit,
but she will.

We also are still working with Elosie, Becca, and Susannah. They all
have been to church now and really really enjoyed it. They were
atheist. We have been teaching them about God and about who He is.
They have been reading and praying. We took Serena and Matteo Bortone
(a brother and sister in the ward) and we taught them the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. They took it so well and really enjoyed it. They said
that they had questions answered that they didn't even know they had.
Well we then asked them if they believe that God is their Eternal
Father. They said yes. They said they believe it! Hallelujah. That is
probably one of the best feelings ever. Hearing someone say that they
know Heavenly Father lives, when before they didn't know. I was
smiling the whole lesson, they probably thought something was wrong
with my mouth! We taught them the Restoration again and testified to
them that we know that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to
the earth. The next step for them is to find out if Joseph Smith is a
prophet and if The Book of Mormon is true.

We honestly have been seeing success. This week has been a very
humbling week for me. I have learned a lot and have realized that I
need to be way better. But I am so thankful for my testimony of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am also so thankful for my family. Because
without you all and the Gospel I don't know where I would be. I love
you all and am excited to skype with you.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife
Sorry no pictures....I have really slacked on pictures this week.

An eventful week

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

 

Tanner you are a stud. You look great in your Tux. Did you enjoy Prom? I loved going to dances with friends. It was a party. :) As far as Uncle Rich's Father in Law. I asked about her and the missionaries in Ward 1 said that they don't know. A family with that name lives there, but I haven't followed up with it. I will ask them. For Skype. It will be Sunday. We could do the same time, like 12 in America and 7 pm here? Is that okay for you guys?

 

Well this email will probably be pretty short, I have a really bad headache right now so I can't concentrate. I am sorry. But we are having so many miracles. The first obviously being Sue. Sue is doing great. You all probably know because of what she says to all of you guys. I don't know why she is saying there is contention about who baptizes her...haha we haven't talked at all about who baptizes her, other than us saying it has to be a priesthood holder. We try to take members, but they are pretty hard to get out teaching with us. Mainly just because they are very busy people, and we can never seem to catch anyone free. This week we have set up some good appointments with some members everyday, so I am hoping we will be able to help her progress. She is so close. Just teetering on the edge, she just has a few questions. But our plan is to go through all the lessons with her again and just help remind her of why she wants to get baptized. We did move her baptism to May 7th so hopefully that gives her a bit more time to receive an answer. Sue already believes it all. She has told us so many times that she loves the church, and that she loves the people here. I think she is just a little bit afraid to take this next step. She honestly is a great lady and she is progressing so well.

 

We are also working with a few Uni students. Eloise, Susannah, and Becca. Eloise and Susannah came to church this week, and they loved it. They don't believe in God but they have told us that they are really close. Eloise said this is the first time she has ever believed even a little bit. We are trying to get them involved with the YSA here but again it is pretty hard, because everyone is so busy all the time. We have a few lessons set up with them as well. They are great though, we have some good laughs while we teach them. Today we are planning on going by with a few members and we are going to teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Wish us luck. Eloise and Susannah are doing everything they can to find out if what we are saying is true and they are working towards the 14th of May to be baptized.

 

I know that this email has been short. I am so sorry. But please pray for all of these. They are doing so good. They just need a little bit of a push. I am so happy for them. I hope you are all doing wonderful this week. Elder Bailey and I are doing good. Thanks for your love and your support. I really couldn't do it without you.

 

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

 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

Blessings left and right - Monday, April 18, 2016

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

It doesn't seem like you all had a boring week. It seems like you have had a great week. I am glad to hear everyone is doing good. I know I tell you this all the time, but I love hearing what is happening in the Family. Just knowing everyone is safe and happy makes me happy. I know things probably don't go perfect but it sounds like everyone is great. I love you all! I know I have said this before as well, but I am sorry for some of the things that I did, and how and treated everyone. I have really learned so much. I have realized how important my family is to me and I may not show it all the time but I love you guys and I am so grateful for all of you in my life. Each one of you have helped and continue to help me. Thank you so much. Your testimonies to Sue are amazing. It is helping her so much. We honestly have struggled figuring out what we can do to help and it seems that you being friends with her on facebook has been the key to her progression. Sue is an amazing lady. We have seen so much progress with her.

For a long while Sue was just kind of going steady, she was searching but was holding back a bit. We have taught her almost everything. She has been to church and she loves it. She loves reading the Book of Mormon and she has always prayed in her life. We came to a brick wall with her and didn't know what else to do. But then we went over and she shared with us what Dad wrote to her. She then told us that some of her questions were answered and then she opened up to us a bit more and told us that she doesn't understand it all yet. Specifically about the Book of Mormon and where it came from. She said that she loves it but just doesn't have a testimony of it yet. That is what is holding her back from being baptized. She still has a date for the 30th of April but still has a lot to get over. We basically have just been teaching her about the Book of Mormon and something came to mind just barely of what we can do for her next. Oh my goodness it is just so simple and something that we have slacked on with her. We need to read the Book of Mormon with her and help her understand the stories. As she sees it come alive she will see and feel the blessings and the truthfulness of the gospel that come from the Book of Mormon and the restored church. Thanks for helping out. You are all doing great things.

We are also working with Eloise, Susanna, and Becca. So Eloise is the American and the other two are her house mates. We went by to teach Eloise and her mates were there. So we basically answered questions and then they were asking questions about the Plan of Salvation so we told them that their questions would be answered with this cool message we share called the Plan of Happiness. And they were like "what...a plan of Happiness? Tell us what this is" Haha so we taught them the Plan of Happiness and they loved it. They said that it made sense. We then were able to schedule them for the 14th of May. We are hoping we can get them there. They are all very open and very willing to find out more. They are coming to FHE with us tonight. They are very cool. They laugh a lot which is a problem sometimes, because it pulls us off topic so we need to try and keep it on topic. Haha. But they really do want to find out. I love the gospel and teaching it, because the way to find out is just to read and pray. It is so simple. It really is the way to find out the truth.

James and David are doing good. We weren't able to teach them because James got in a car accident. He is doing okay. But we are hopefully seeing them this week. They are great.

So many blessings have been coming our way. I have been a bit blind and haven't really recognized them until later. But looking back I see all the blessings which have come. I also realized that I have still so much to improve on. I am trying to be better and become more of what Heavenly Father wants me to be. I have realized that I am very impatient. So any advice to help me be patient would be great. I love the Gospel though, it allows me to recognize that I am not the greatest but then it also allows me to be able to become better. So hopefully I will be able to be better. Haha. It may take time...a lot of time. But maybe one day I will be able to look back and see how far I have come. I love you guys and hope you are all well.

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

These are the before and after pics of me eating sues cupcakes. THEY WERE SO GOOD!!! THANKS SUE.

He is still the same goofy boy of mine that is for sure!  Love him!! :)

Oh my!!!  He definitely didn't learn this from me!!!

Another Transfer already

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family, 

Well transfers have come again and I am moving...again. It is so weird I honestly don't know why President is moving me all the time. AHHHHH!! GOTCHA haha. I am actually staying. But it has just become habit writing something to that effect. haha. I am excited to stay. Elder Bailey and I are doing some good work. 

You know the Rife boys nothing gets in the way with us chilling with our homies! haha. After all we are Tan tan the ladies man and Elder Rife... his wing man. haha. ( At first when I read this in Tyler's email I didn't really understand what Tyler was talking about.  However,  after reading it a second time I remembered that in our email to Tyler, Steve had talked about Tanner "hanging" with his friends even though he had had surgery on his arm and was on pain meds. They definitely LOVE their friends and have always had a good time with them! :) )    Ky I am so sorry to hear that you got stung (by a wasp or a hornet) so many times. It isn't fun, but the hornets just like us so much that they can't resist how amazing we taste! (Tyler absolutely HATES bees, wasps hornets or any other thing that stings!!!  He has been my child that has been stung numerous times throughout his life. Ask him sometime to relate the story of being in Bruce's backyard!  Bruce was our wonderful crossing guard at Grandview Elementary.  It is NOT a fun story.)  Kylee... I hope you feel a bit better. Kyns and Ken good work with all the success. Everyone is doing so good. Seems like you are all just loving life. I am loving it as well. You heard from Sue our investigator. She wanted us to send a quick message. We told her probably not but she insisted. 

Sue is a great lady though. She is doing really good. She laughs so much it is insane. Sue at first wasn't really interested in the church, she just wanted to be nice to the missionaries and then over time she realized that what she was being taught is good. She is still working towards the 30th of April to get baptized, and is doing great. She is a little afraid because she has to stop smoking and doesn't really want to. She knows it is bad but she is afraid that later down the line after her baptism she will slip up and she doesn't want that. So lately we have been trying to help her understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ and help her understand repentance. We are teaching her the Plan of Salvation again today so hopefully she will grasp the idea a little more and know that if she slipped up she would be able to get up again and try again. Keep her in your prayers. 

James is amazing as well. James came to Stake Conference and loved it. He is such a great guy. He really does love Heavenly Father and Jesus  Christ so much but he has so many questions. He takes notes during our lesson and when he was at stake conference. This is really testing Elder Bailey's and my knowledge and study skills. But it seems to be that every time we teach him the questions are answered and he understands it more. We are seeing him on Wednesday again and this time we are really going to teach him the Plan of Salvation because last time he had loads of questions still about the Priesthood. He is such a smart guy. He is taking everything in and really trying to understand it all. He hasn't really been reading the Book of Mormon so we have been trying to help him understand that everything that we are sharing comes down to him reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. I know that if he does though he will progress way faster. 

Remember I told you all about Eloise. She is American and is so cool. She went away last week but we were able to teach her yesterday, basically just about faith and about praying and reading. She said that she looked at the Book of Mormon and then prayed just to know if Heavenly Father was there. She told us that she didn't really get a solid answer but she felt good about it all. We explained to her that answers may not come immediately and then shared with her the analogy in Alma about faith and how it is like a seed. She really liked it. We are planning to teach her the Plan of Salvation tomorrow. It will be great. 

This week has been good for us. We really are seeing loads of success. We need to be better at following up with our potentials we find but we are seeing miracles take place. I hope you are all doing great. If you need anything let me know. Tell Max congratulations! ( Max Hoopes...he is a neighbor of ours that received his mission call to Bangkok, Thailand) Miracles are happening. The Church is true and the Book is blue. 

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

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

. 

"This is an actual street name in England....haha!  What the heck!" 

Elder Bailey and Elder Rife with Sue

I woke up to a wonderful surprise Sunday morning...

I think I have mentioned in an earlier blog post how we have all become good friends by way of fb with a gal in Tyler's mission by the name of Caroline.  Such good friends too...I'm not sure she feels the same but I have told my mother that although I have never met Caroline in person I feel like I have known her forever. :)  

Anyways...she posted this picture with the statement "look who I bumped into!"  Such a fun surprise to wake up to.  Thank you SOOOO very much Caroline.  You really are a dear friend to all of us in our family.  Love ya!  

Stake Conference in England

Elder Bailey, Caroline with her daughter and Elder Rife

Another General Conference...and the last on the Mission :( Monday, April 4, 2016

Hiya Mum, Dad, and Family,

 

Tanner what did you do man!! Goodness gracious, I can't believe that you broke your arm! I hope you are doing better and that you get better soon. Kynsie I got the parcel you and Kendra sent. Thank you so much for it. It brought a lot of sunshine to my day! (They had sent him a "sunshine package" filled with items that were YELLOW!) Thank you so much, you are all absolutely amazing. Conference was amazing wasn't it?!!! I wasn't able to see the last session. So I will have to read it later. But the other sessions were great. I had a lot of questions answered. It is weird that it is the last General Conference I will see. I am just trying not to think about it because I have so much to do and so little time.

 

Well this week for Elder Bailey and I was a pretty good week. Sue came to General Conference!!! She loved it as well. She loves Elder Uchtdorf. and she loved hearing his talk. She said it was meant for her. Sue doesn't think she knows the church is true, but we know she does. She is always telling us how everything makes sense and how she just knows that everything is good. She said she also feels good about it. Right now she feels down though because she feels like all she ever knew isn't true anymore and we are trying to help her understand that Heavenly Father has just been preparing her for this day in her life. She is so amazing. She should be getting baptized on the 30th of April. I will keep you updated on the wonderful miracles that are happening.

 

I was so excited to see Carl as well. He is so awesome. I can't believe that it was almost a year ago that we met him and that he made promises with Heavenly Father to come closer to Him. Carl is doing so great though. I was so excited to see him at Conference.

 

We are also working with the McInerney's, Dawn and Damian and their 3 kids. We knocked into them about 2 weeks ago. Dawn told us to come back. Well we did and had an amazing lesson with them about the Restoration of the Gospel. Like I told you last week they are Catholic and very very Catholic at that. They really love the Gospel. They are just really kind in General. Well Elder Bailey and I prayed about a date to schedule them for baptism and we felt the 23rd of April. So we went over and taught them the Plan of Salvation. Everything was going perfect. They accepted everything. They even were teaching us a bit and said that it all makes sense to them. You could tell that they could feel the spirit and that their hearts were being pricked. Well we invited them and scheduled them. They didn't really accept it at first because they have already been baptized but they said that they would read the Book of Mormon and Pray about it. We are hoping that we will be able to see them again. If not I don't worry, because I know that we have been able to plant a seed with them and that they will accept it one day. They are so kind to us.

 

David and James are doing amazing as well. We taught him the Priesthood Authority and it was such a good lesson, again the spirit was so strong and everything just seemed that it was falling into place. James really is testing these things out. He struggles because he is so involved with his own church but is still interested to find out the truth. He is still reading and praying and has accepted a date to be baptized on the 30th of April. He is so cool. David is doing great as well, he is taking great steps to get baptized again.

 

To be honest there are so many miracles happening this week. I can't tell you about all of them. We are planning on contacting some of our investigators this week that we haven't really been in contact with lately. We hope that all goes well. I loved conference so much. It talked so much about families. I think that families are so important. Heavenly Father really wants families to be eternal. He is going to bless the family so much. I am so grateful for my family and the family that has been added to my life while being here in England. I still have loads to learn but I know with all of you by my side we will be able to make it home to our Heavenly Father. Families are truly ordained of God. I love this wonderful gospel, and I know that it is true.

 

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

 

Love, Elder Tyler Rife

 

"After Conference with Carl, Elder Barendse and I who taught him and Eler Rusjberg who found him in Scarborough."

We are Facebook friends with Carl and while we were watching the last session of General Conference here at home, I got a fb notification that Carl had posted on fb.  I read it...it said something to the effect of him being happy because of attending General Conference and also being able to see a few old friends. Steve responded to his post and asked him if one of those 'friends" was Elder Rife?  Carl responded back and said he had seen Elder Rife! :)  Man...It made my heart happy and yet a little sad to have that tiny connection with someone who had been with our son.  Listening to the messages of our sweet leaders and knowing our son was out serving our Father in Heaven...I was just overcome with emotion. It made me tear up. I'm so thankful for the blessings the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bring to me and my family. I'm also thankful to the people of England and for the love and care they have shared with my son the last 20 months.  Ohhh some days ya just miss 'em tons!!!! :)

"Elder Bailey and I flyin our colors before we head out to do the good work of God."