Merry Christmas from Mongolia

Richie's FIRST Baptism!!

Dear Mom and Dad,
So today has been cold. So lets first get down to business. So my phone call is scheduled for 8 in the morning here but it will be about 5 in the afternoon there on your Christmas evening. I might reschedule because I have english at 8:40 and I really don't want to have to worry about the fact of hurrying over to my english. Soooo, it could be earlier, like 7:00 or 7:30 (about 4 o clock your time) or it could be later like 10:30 which would be around 7:00 in the evening your time. I just want you to be there all sunday afternoon. Then I will probably be able to talk to you. I really might reschedule because I really don't have a lot of time if I talk at 8. So I also decided to send some pictures after all. By the way that red light is the sun. So the weight loss number is officially about 25 pounds. That was really weird to see. I can actually feel some of my bones now. Just kidding. So this week my investigator got baptized. It was really cool. I am really amazed at the fact that I have an investigator that was baptized. It made me feel so wonderful. I got to stand in the circle that gave him the priesthood which was really neat. It has just been a really good experience. Of course it is hard but the fact that one got baptized makes it all worth it. Now I just have to pray that he will endure to the end. I'm so glad you are all having a wonderful time back at home. It is really cool to see the bonding that has gone on in our family while I have been away. It is really cold here. Everything freezes with in a matter of seconds and the coldest part isn't even here yet. Well I am really glad that all of you are praying for me. It has been really hard I admit but I know that if I rely on the lord everything will be better. I wish you all the best of luck and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Love Elder Williams

Dear Mom and Dad,

First of all mom, Happy Birthday!!! I did sing for you all the way
over here in Mongolia. Also I so glad to know that you all like the
types of food I eat. SO one really good thing is that we are having
an investigator baptized this Friday. He has accepted all of our
commitments and I think he will go really far in the church. Now we
are trying to get his relative who also is really good to be prepared.
So today I had to give and exam to one of my English classes. That
was very interesting. Also in a few weeks I have to give a final. I
just have to have time to make the test. Well, I hope you are all
enjoying your holidays. I too am becoming more grateful for Jesus
Christ. I love the fact that even though I will never be perfect that
if I try I will truly be happy. I just have to follow all the
commandments and endure to the end and I will live in eternal
happiness with my family. I am so grateful for the Savior and helping
me overcome all of my weaknesses. So you know that you are in
Mongolia when you walk on a really warm bus and you can still see your
breath. I'm serious. The buses are really warm but I still can see
my breath. It is pretty cold here. I just can't wait for when it
starts warming back up again. I am just amazed at how time flies. It
just keeps going faster and faster. I'm so grateful for being able to
be here. So my language understanding is really picking up but I
still can't say things very well. I will just have to keep trying. I
just hope I can learn it really well. So for Christmas we get to have
kind of a little celebration which should be really fun. Well I am
doing better and I will just keep trying to work my hardest. By the
way I haven't been able to make pizza because I haven't been able to
find yeast. It is here but it seems to be a little hard to find. I
pray for you all everyday and hope you all are doing well. Thank you
so much for your emails. They always make me want to be better and be
a better missionary. I can't wait to be able to go in the temple as a
family again. I really want to go to a temple right now. It is just
so peaceful. Well enough of that. I love you all and I wish you all
a Merry Christmas.

Dear Mom and Dad,

So Mongolia is cold. That is nothing new though. The good thing is that I am still warm and will probably remain warm. So this week has been really good. I have also had some pretty funny stuff happen. First I got to try and talk to seven drunks all at the same time. That was quite interesting. I have already had many experiences with drunks but this kind of stuck out a little. So we were walking and these seven guys told us to come over to them. SO we did and we ended up having a total conversation that absolutely made no sense. So I was trying to understand them and they were trying to understand me and the just started saying names from the San Antonio Spurs and it was really quite funny. But the more I think about it the more I realize why the Lord would have us follow the Word of Wisdom. It allows us to be much more spiritually receptive and strong. Well other than that we had another three people commit to a baptismal date. So right now we have 6. It was cool and we had 3 investigators come to sacrament meeting. It has been really good. It has been a really good day so far. To answer one of Rebecca's questions we do proselyte. We are not allowed to make ITL's and we can't track but we are allowed to find through referrals of members and if someone asks us we are allowed to talk about it. It has been really great. It is weird to think about how much time has already passed since I left on my mission. The days are speeding by. I am almost already half way done with this transfer. Our transfers are every 12 weeks. It is really just cruising and it makes me think just about how much I have done and how much I need to do. We should be having an investigator baptized in about a week or two or at least that is what we are hoping for. He is really strong and he finally received a testimony and an answer from Heavenly Father which has been really great. Well Mongolia is good. I love the food and am beginning to like the really weird types of food. It pretty much tastes like baby vomit but it is beginning to taste pretty good. Oh well. I'm so glad to hear that you are all doing really well. It sounds like your Christmas will be really special this year. I glad to hear about the Robison's and Hansen's. I'm grateful for their prayers. Also thank cousin Brian for the scarf. It has been really helpful. I didn't realize how much it has snowed in Cedar City. It sounds like a lot of fun. So this week I had ice on my eyelashes. That was actually pretty cool. Also my English teaching is getting better and soon they will all have winter break so I have a few weeks to prepare. I love you all and I wish you all the best. Enjoy your beginning of your holidays.

Mom and Dad, I would just like to personally thank you for everything you have sacrificed to get me on a mission. I know that it started the day I was born. I hope you both realize how much I love you and am grateful for your parenting. It really makes realized how close our family is and it is because of the wonderful environment you raised us kids in. I love you and thank you for all you have done.


Dear Sisters,

So Mongolia is great right now. It is getting colder but I am still getting used to it so it is getting a little better. This week has been a little hard because I had a little cold and am now just starting to get better. I'm so glad you write me such wonderful things in your email. It sound like you are living your pre Christmas days the way they should be spent. I know that this year might be a little hard because of our circumstances but always remember what Christmas truly is about. It is about our Redeemer and Savior coming to the world so we could eventually return to live with Heavenly Father. It meant that even though we are not perfect and we sin and make mistakes every day that we could return and experience peace and joy. Also Christmas is about family. It sounds like you are really bonding well there and I am so grateful for your example of how a real Christmas should be spent. You are all truly amazing. In a way it makes me glad I'm gone because it sounds like you are bonding really well together. By the way nice work on the whole TV thing. Now you can watch Bonanza a little more quietly. :) Rachel, I know that you can find some wonderful gifts to give even if you only have 3 dollars. I also know that you are really good at making home made gifts and so I would encourage you to try that. Caelen, it is good to know that you are still yourself. That Mistborn book sounds absolutely awesome. Also thank you for the dancing duck. :) Rebecca, I'm so proud of the way you are handling things. That experience sounds just awesome. I admit I needed to hear that right now. It is not that I have a bad attitude but some day's I am just living and not being as happy as I should be. Thank you. All of you girls I love you so much and feel absolutely free to make my room a place where you can go relax. I have no issues with you making it whatever you want to. Once again I love you all and have a wonderful pre Christmas countdown.

Love Richie

Dear Mom and Dad,
So this week has been pretty good. It is sometimes a little hard because we can't get our investigators to truly commit but I think we will get better as we go along. This week I felt that the language was getting better. I am able to say what I kind of want to a little more quickly. I noticed that my language is getting better though it is not me. It is definitely the Holy Ghost. The only problem I have right now is that when someone else talks to me I get flustered and can't speak well. I guess that is where the part comes in of not being afraid to make mistakes. I am now trying to teach more and not just say a few sentences. It is harder but I think that eventually it will all come along. I am getting cold but right now I don't seem to need a new coat but if I do, have no fear, I will buy one. I don't want to freeze. One more thing. I seem to have lost quite a bit of weight. So my suit didn't fit as well as it did. So I can still wear it and look good but I think that if I stay at this weight I am going to have to buy a new suit in the summer. I don't feel like buying one now because you have to try it on outside and it is very cold. The good news is, is that a suit is only like 40 dollars here. So I just wanted you to know that I look a little bit more like a Russian now where before I looked more like an American. I am having a wonderful time here. Me and my companion are finally starting to mesh better. I think I will be able to bake pizza so that is good. Not this week because our money is almost gone but in a few weeks or so. I'm glad you are making me a new hat mom. I would really like that. So right now I finally found a way to take my boots on and off so I can wear them. It takes a little bit of time but it is effective enough and my boots are warm enough that it is worth it. I really hope you are all having a great time right now. I don't know about the whole mailing thing right now. You might have to call someone on that. Mongolia is finally starting to become a little more stable for me. The schedule is starting to finally fit in and I feel like now I am officially doing well. What I really want it just for the weather to get at it's coldest so I don't need to keep worrying. Well I hope you all had a great thanksgiving. I just passed it like anyother day. The good new is that I have seen two Christmas tree's. All LDS members celebrate Christmas and even then there are non christians that will celebrate it. I love you all and I hope that the Chemo goes well mom. I am praying for you everyday and I know that you will get better.

Elder Williams

Thanks for all the letters. I have received your letter grandma and I have received Caelen's letter. Thank you for all your love and support. So this week was really good but also really frustrating. My English sponsor doesn't like the way I teach English. At first I was really kind of upset but then I heard that this sort of thing happens quite a bit. So I just let it go and moved on. The funny thing was that my sponsor hasn't even sat down at one of my lessons. She has no idea and is just guessing. So I just moved on. By the way mom, you look so cute with your mohawk. You should have kept it. I was so happy to read Kristalyn's email and for the record I read her's first because she told me to on the subject line. I'm so proud of her and am jealous she gets to go the temple. I've been realizing how much I miss the temple lately. It has been really noticeable when I haven't been able to go in a whole 3 weeks!!! Oh well. Thank you for the recipes. By the way mom I feel so bad because I accidentally lost the hat you made for me. I was wearing it everywhere. Don't worry I got a new one but yours was much warmer. So I did have a really good week despite the whole sponsor thing. We had three investigators commit to baptism in one lesson. It was really cool and I think I am beginning to see a change in one of the investigators specifically. HE is really trying hard to do all we ask him. It has been really amazing. By the way it is beginning to get really cold. I am having some difficulties getting my boots on because the only way I can wear them is if I can get my pants over them. I can but it does take some effort. So I am really beginning to feel the fire of missionary work especially with hour new investigators. One's name is Gotov and he just really seems to want to be in the church or so I think. My language comprehension is still growing but my speaking ability is suffering and that is because I don't really have a language study time and am having to learn in on the fly. The reason I don't have a language study time is because I teach English in the morning. So this week I arm wrestled my first Mongolian. Guess what... I lost. They are a strong people not to mention that I am not strong. Oh well. so I am finally able to send pictures so here we gooo. Mom good luck with chemo. I hope and pray for the best. I sorry to hear that Bob died. He was a really special family friend. It makes me realize just how quickly time flies. The best of luck with the rest of what you are doing. I heard Halloween was fun. I hope you all pig out for thanksgiving. I probably won't but then in February I could be eating up to 300 buuz dumplings. in one day. I love you all and good luck with everything.

So Mongolia is still pretty hard. I still don't understand half the stuff that is being said. I feel like my comprehension is skyrocketing but it still isn't enough. And besides I still can't speak the language very good. It is tough in lessons because I feel like I always say the same thing. But, I know that through the Lord I can overcome this trial. I have been relying so much on him lately. SO the work is going good. We have received some new investigators which is always good. It remains to be seen if they will come to church or not. We are also doing quite a bit of strengthening of the new ward members. That is pretty cool. It is starting to get really cold here. Whenever we go into a ger when we open the door it is like a fog machine. There is just steam that shoots in and out of the ger. Thanks Mom for all the wonderful things you have crocheted for me. The hat and scarf are really warm. I heard about the Chemo and I know that once it is all over you will feel better. Kind of obvious but true. So our home is warm at least. Sometimes it is just a little too warm. But it still feels really good after a long day hiking in the ger districts. The ger districts are really cool. Of course you have to watch out for dogs but all you do is just throw some rocks. One funny thing is the bus rides. They are insane. We had one bus driver that literally drove like the knight bus on harry potter. We were passing traffic on a one lane residential street. He even had to run one car off of the road just to not hit another. ANd the whole time I was holding on for dear life, standing. It was actually really cool. SO a few nights ago I ate my first sheep or goat head. I really couldn't tell which one it was but it was actually pretty good. The one thing I wouldn't eat was the brains and so my companion somehow managed to get out enough for him to be satisfied. It has been a pretty good day so far and I have got all my clothes washed so that is good. I am beginning to put on more and more layers each day so that makes it a little harder. So we had two investigators show up to church this sunday which was great. I sat next to a little old lady investigator named xaltar. I also had to give a 3-5 minute talk about anything I wanted. I really struggled but I think they sort of got what I was trying to say.

Hey I heard Rebecca went on a date. Be careful, you might just end up going on more. That is cool that you got to see a little more about Mongolia. It really is quite the place. I am kind of beginning to get used to how things work but even that is hard. One funny thing is that my companion doesn't think I can cook food because he doesn't count anything I can make as a food. Oh well. We are eating a lot of meat and bread. That is awesome. I would send you all pictures but I can't right now. I should be able to send them next week. I will eventually get pictures to you that I promise. So good luck and I hope you are all having a wonderful time back at home.

Love Richie

PS please send some recipes over email. send me a pizza recipe for sure because that is what my companion wants for his birthday. Also if you could send some forever stamps and some measuring cups that would be much appreciated. If not oh well. I love you all and I really do wish you all the best of luck.

Love Elder Williams

As far as I know the time hasn't changed here. But, then again I really don't realize half of the stuff going on here. Mongolia is really cool. So my main transportation is either buses, taxis or walking. I when I say walking I mean walking. Heavenly Father has this habit to put all my investigators on the very top of all the hills in Mongolia. But I still love it. A couple days ago we helped three little girls lift water up all the way to the top a hill. After we taught them all a lesson of the restoration. Don't worry we had a some branch missionaries with us. It has been really neat so far. So I finally figured out where I am teaching English. I'm teaching at a university. It is so weird but the hardest part is that it often interferes with study time and our proselyting. IT is also tough because they all know enough written English grammar to claim they know everything. The problem is they can't speak it. I know that through the Lord I can become better at teaching and the language. This week the language has come along better, at least the comprehension part. It is hard because my companion claims he can't teach Mongolian so I'm having to try learn some of it on my own. So this week has been good but we are just having trouble getting new investigators. But through prayer and the spirit we can. Yesterday I think I had some minor food poisoning. I hadn't had any trouble eating their food until Sunday and when I woke up I felt miserable. But I think I have gotten over that. I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well back home. I wish you all the best in whatever you are doing. Good luck, and know that I'm doing just fine.

HE IS IN MONGOLIA!!!

So the last couple of days have been really cool. Hard but cool. I don't have much time today so I can't write to the little girls again. Sorry :( SO my new companion's name is elder moohxbaatap. I really butchered the spelling. I have been assigned to the chinggeltee branch. We do have our own apartment but the hard thing about where we are assigned is that we have been whitewashed. That means no body knows the area. It has been pretty hard. My companion can speak pretty good English so that really helps. I want him to speak only in Mongolian to me but the problem is that he sometimes gets a little frustrated because I can't really understand him. My comprehension has really picked up since sacrament meeting and when I say comprehension I mean being able to pick out words and not understanding sentences. We have only taught two lessons so far but we did have one investigator commit to a baptismal date (she didn't show up at church though) and we actually had another investigator show up at church. It was pretty cool except I can't understand anyone. I have already had several Mongolian types of food. It is actually pretty good so far. The one thing about Mongolia is that I feel like I'm on a different planet. It feels like I'm living in the city of Gotham in Batman either new or old. It is really dirty and sometimes the smog is so thick it makes Salt Lake City look like the most cleanest city in the world. The cool thing is that I'm really enjoying being here. I am really just praying to be able to understand the language right now. It is really hard. So the first thing we did here was we went up to a monument built to the Russians and sang High on the Mountain Top. It was really cool. I will try to send pictures next week. I just need a few cords to do it and I want to be able to say what I'm buying in Mongolian. So jet lag is still kicking in but not really bad anymore. For a while I was getting motion sickness even in cars. Speaking of cars the traffic here is crazy. You literally can drive anywhere you want to. That is the rule and it gets really scary sometimes. But it is really cool. I love you all and hope you are having a great time back at home.

EVERYBODY GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!! I GOT TRAVEL PLANS!!!!! So I sent the email to you in the morning when I didn't know I we had gotten them. There is quite a spiritual experience behind this though. I went to the temple and the whole time I was a little down about the fact that we were not going and possibly could be temporarily reassigned. So while I was there I prayed and prayed to Heavenly Father for a miracle and that somehow all the VISA's would arrive today. So when we came back to our room the other elder's were waiting and told us the wonderful news. WE ARE GOING!!!!!! I'm just so excited to serve the people of Mongolia. I know that God answers the prayers of everybody no matter how simple it is. The first thing I did was I got down on my knees and thanked Heavenly Father. I know that he does care about each of us and that he does have a plan for us. I heard about the picture card. That is too bad so next time I won't send it through the mail. It probalby got erased somehow in the whole mail process. I do have better pictures though on my other picture card so don't worry. I got a lot of district and single pictures of me. So the time I'm supposed to be out of the MTC room is 4:30 tomorrow. My flight is at 8:12. So my first flight number is DL 1211. That is just the flight to LA airport. We then have like a 5 hour layover and we will just kind of spend the night there. I can tell you my other flight plans later on the telephone. Speaking of the telephone I will be calling tonight around 8:00 or 8:15. The let me do it because I've been delayed so much. I'm so excited. Our whole district just started screaming. This has actually been really hard on all of us. We've already been here pretty long so it was getting kind of a drag. But, I'm going!!!! I'm so happy right now. I can't even focus. So this week we had Culture day. It was really cool. One weird thing is that apparently if you have a cold you are supposed to drink some of your mother's urine. I guess I lot of Mongolians still do this so I just thought you would be interested. We also learned about how the name of the bad guy in Mulan is actually an ancient Mongolian name for king or something like that. We also learned just how huge of an empire the Mongolians conquer. One other funny thing is that they love Russia and hate China. They also really like the russian communist lennon and a few others. they somehow think he helped their country. Also we learned about some of the Mongolian religions. Our teachers told us not to treat the mongolian shamnism as lightly. Apparently we are to take it serious because some of it is kind of scary. Mongolia is still spiritually maturing so there seems to be a small spiritual battle going on there. I'm a little nervous about that but through the Lord I can do anything. I'm so grateful for all you have done for me. I've finally going to Mongolia. My feet are doing better and I still have problems but they are not even as big as they used to be. I will just keep asking for wart medications though I don't need any right now. I love you all and I can feel all your prayers. I love you and I will call you tonight.

Love Elder Williams

PS sorry if my letter was kind of jumbled, I'm really excited

Dear Dad, Mom, and Family,
So this week has been a good week so far. My language has continued to grow though there is no substitute like being out in the field. I'm really grateful that you called and talked to me about mom's situation. It was good to hear from your voices what is going on. I know it was a little awkward for me and I got over it pretty quick. It is just weird talking to your parents when you haven't heard them for quite a while. I might be calling you in another week because we can call at the airport so be ready for that. I honestly think that we will be going this Monday but if not, we will go whenever they get out VISA's. The good news is that we know we are going to Mongolia because all our VISA's have been cleared. It is just now a matter of time. Mom, thank you for the scriptures that you send over Email. By the way I have had a blessing from my companion about my feet and I'm tempted to ask for one more before I go. I hope you got my nametag that I sent back. It was pretty scratched up but it looks pretty cool. I'm also sending one of my pictures cards back with you all today. I wanting to so you can get some pictures of me before I go. Most of them are with other elders in the MTC so nothing too exciting but I thought you would appreciate them being sent. So, I have officially decided that I love going to the temple. I always feel so great after I leave a session. I am already looking forward to the time I can go back with my parents to the temple. I really am looking forward to that. This week we watched the Mountain of the lord and it really restressed the importance of temples in my mind. So this week we also had to go to in field orientation. It was fun but it lasted the whole day. I learned a lot and feel like I'm ready to go out and serve the lord. (I'm still nervous though, but then again, that is just me) Also this week we have a third bunk moved into our room because the MTC is really beginning to expand. They MTC seems to be preparing for a lot higher amount of missionaries that will be coming in, in the future. It is cool but tomorrow we get new roomates. One of them could be Erik Merono I guess. that would be cool but I doubt it. So you don't even know how happy it makes me that all the other guys in our ward our all going on missions. I'm so pumped for them all. I wish I could tell them how great it is and how much it has already changed my life. Even in the MTC. There is so much gospel knowledge gained, and lately I have felt like I want to go and share with the whole world my feelings for the gospel. I know that sounds weird but it is really true. I'm just so happy they get to experience that. I really am really really really excited for them. One of the coolest things about missionary work I have sort of experienced is just how much you begin to care about those you teach and those you will serve. I can't wait until I can be bearing my simple testimony in Mongolia. I somehow have already begun to love the people and I'm not even there yet. Well enough of that. I grateful for all of your prayer's. I really can feel them strengthening me. One really cool thing about Mongolia I learned this week is the holiday called White Moon/Month (I'm not sure which yet since they are the same word). I would write it in Mongolian but my computer won't let me pull up the keyboard right now. So you pretty much go around for like a week and eat and give presents. They said we would be extremely lucky to even give a lesson that week. It is in Feb. so I will get to be there 2 times for it. I'm not sure if I will be there for both naddams because of transfer times but I'm still really excited for that. So, I love you all and I'm so grateful for you and your examples. Good luck and I hope all of you are having a great time. I love you and thanks for all you have done for me in helping me get on a mission.
Love Elder Williams
Wish all the elder's in the ward good luck for me

Dear Mom and Dad and Family,

So this week has been a really good week. My language has finally come to the point I feel confident even though I know that when I get to Mongolia that I will totally not understand a word. So, our VISA's have been delayed but we got some good news. First, all of us have our sponsers for teaching so that means that there is a company in Mongolia that has my name on it to teach English at. Another good thing is that we were told that our VISA's will probably get here this week our possibly the beginning of next week. Another good thing is that the travel office said that all of our VISA's would be processed so that is great news. I will get to Mongolia and they can't keep me out of there forever. So my feet are healing and I can feel that prayers for them. I think that through the Lord I can get rid of them so they will not mess with the work in Mongolia. Who knows, maybe they will all freeze off in Mongolia. I am getting really antsy being here because I want to go and teach especially that I'm very confident in the language. I'm so jealous of Jake Berry. That would be such a wonderful mission to go to. Speaking of Argentina all of the Spanish I've learned in the last year or two has completely gone down hill. I understand everyone's Spanish just great but every time I try to respond Mongolian comes out or at least Mongolian grammar structure. I'll end up saying really weird stuff so I've pretty much given up on even trying to respond to anyone in Spanish. But this at least shows that I'm more confident in Mongolian which I'm still not even that confident about at all. But I have been using it more. I've officially decided that I love going to the temple. It is really fun and even if I don't learn anything specific I really enjoy just the absolute peace I get every time I go. By the way the Provo tabernacle temple is so cooool. that was the last thing I expected when he started talking about it. That will be really neat. I've been praying for Mom everyday and I hope you can feel my prayers. I've also been praying for our whole family. I so amazed at the example you have set especially when I'm not even there to see it. I really amazed at how much tighter the family has pulled together with all of this. So yesterday I went on splits in the district for TRC. It was really great because I had a companion who wasn't quite as good as me and so it forced me to experiment a lot more. In the end it ended up being the best lesson I've taught. I just hope and pray that the Holy Ghost is using as a tool in his hand so I can help all of those I teach. By the way, the video with Elder Holland was great but not quite accurate. There is not actually 1 in 10 people that are members of the church in Ulaanbaatar. It is actually more like 1 in every 150 people so we have our work cut out for us. IT is really weird teaching Mongolians about the gospel because they have absolutely no background knowledge of Christ. We are teaching absolute simple lessons. At first I thought this was weird but in the long run I read out of I think it is 2 Nephi 31 (I just wanted to interject here because it was really cool. The n sound in mongolian is with an H not an N and I started typing Nephi with and H at first. I'm mixing up my languages) It says that he glories in plainness because then no one can misunderstand. Well, I love you all and I'm praying for all of you.

Love Elder Williams

PS. I got your package and I'm glad you sent it to me. I'm also sending a second package home with the t shirts today. It will also have my camera card and the little girls letters and a letter to grandma Williams. Thank you for the letter Grandma! I really needed it that day.

Dear Mark and Tara and Maddie,

Thank you for the birthday card. It made my day!!! And very good on picking up some Mongolian.

Dear Mom and Dad,

So this week has been really good. I really enjoyed General Conference this week. We would watch every one in the huge meeting room. It was really cool especially because I paid attention the whole time. I never have taken so much away from General Conference in my life. I actually had about a full 18 pages of notes on it. It was really amazing and I felt the spirit the whole time. I also felt like many of the talks were directed at me. Obviously I didn't really try and apply how to raise a daughter to my life but I still took a lot of notes for the future. My language is coming along but I still just don't feel confident at all. It is going to be a huge wake up call in Mongolia. I heard that BYU won and was pretty happy about that. So I did get the shirts for all you guys but I think the cheapest way to send it will be to send it to Kristalyn, and when she comes down she can give it to you.
So really this week has been good. I can tell things are a little stressful at home right now. So I will elaborate a little more on my feet. So first, I went to the health clinic thinking that they would just have a doctor there to burn them off. But, they don't have a doctor there that will do that so I was then set up with a doctor off campus. As the lady called him they said they could get me in right then. So, I got a shuttle pass and me and my companion went on a little ride down to University Avenue. It was so weird actually being in the real world. I realized that out in Provo I had no purpose what so ever. It was weird also to ride in a vehicle when I haven't been in one for like 2 months. Well, then I went into the doctors office. I went in there and they said I was covered by Missionary Medical. Well, then they took me into the room. When the doctor saw my warts he said I should have been there a month ago so he could have started the process. Oh well. He then took a little thing that used air pressure to shoot medicine underneath the skin. He pretty much said that burning warts off usually doesn't work that well and that for now on I should go to a specialist for it because general doctors don't know this. So, after all this he said that I was to come back in two weeks. Well, he said that I would probably have some warts in mongolia and that he would do all he could to get them down. That is why I need that prayers and I am thankful for them. I had my companion give me a blessing so they would heal faster. I just need to have faith that the lord will heal me. So that was my experience this week. It was really weird. This week one of the elders in our district really sprained his ankle bad. At first we thought it was a break but through the lord's mercy nothing more than a sprain. I just really want to get to Mongolia right now. The MTC does begin to get a little repetitive. Well I'm praying for all of you because I know that it must be pretty hard. Everyone is having their own trials right now it seems. Hey we also had an awesome fireside speaker this week. We had Chad Lewis come and talk to us. It was really cool and he had a lot of really great stuff to say. Well thank you for all your prayer's. They have really helped me. I love you all and Mom, you don't need to send me any wart stuff. I really appreciate the examples that all of you have set for me. I don't know how I could be here if it wasn't for all of you. I just soooo excited to get to Mongolia. Well good luck and know that I'm praying for you all. I love you all.

Love Elder Williams/ Richie

Dear Dad and Mom,

This has been a really good week. I have had many spiritual experiences and my language is coming a lot better. This week I feel like I can finally understand most of what is said in the language at least by my teachers. I know that this will change as soon as I get into Mongolia and then I just won't be able to understand anything. Actually we had a native come in and speak with us and we could barely understand him. It was an eye opener but I liked it because I got a taste of what I'm going to go through. It has been a good week though. Today Heavenly Father really helped me understand some things about my life in the temple. It has been really cool to all of a sudden have your eyes opened to certain miracles he has performed. I'm so grateful that he answers everyone's prayers. Even a boy from Cedar City. It has really been amazing. Yes, I did get a scholarship from BYU but it wasn't a lot. It was about half tuition. But I don't have any financial aid when it comes to like grants and stuff. So we now have 5 investigators and it has been pretty cool. I've also been acting as an investigator and that has been fun. We don't know if we have are VISA's but we won't know until another week. It seems like forever but I will eventually get there. I just really want to get there. I haven't quite understood how the spirit works with me yet. I'm praying all the time for it but it is hard because I really have to listen. Then again, Elder Bednar said that we don't need to worry about it as long as we are doing all we can to invite the spirit. We got to hear from Russel M. Nielson this week. It was on the Book of Mormon. One experience I had was when I was in the meeting I realized that I didn't have the testimony of the Book of Mormon like I would have liked to have had. So I threw up some desperate prayers to have God give me a testimony that the Book of Mormon was true. I at first didn't receive anything. I was especially scared because at district meeting I was going to have to get up and bear my testimony on it. So, when I got up there I had no idea what I was going to say. I thought occurred to me that I needed to just get up and say the things I couldn't deny. While I was sharing those I received a witness that the Book of Mormon was true. I received it so strongly that when I bore my testimony in Mongolian the phrase "I know the Book of Mormon is true" it actually meant something more than just a way to communicate. I'm so grateful for the testimony I received. I am so happy I have had the opportunity to have been taught by both of you. Just today I was in the temple thinking about the first time I went in. I can't wait to get back and go back to the St George temple. I have been doing well and don't worry about me. I love you both and soon I will be on my way to Mongolia.

Love Richie/ Elder Williams

Dear little girls and my one big one

I won't be able to write much in this email but be assured that I'm writing letters so you will receive some in a couple of days. It is just hard to write so much in only half an hour. I just wanted to say that I love you all and am so grateful for the example you have set for me. I can't wait to see the wonderful women you will all become. Keep smiling and remember that being yourself is funner than being someone else.

Love Richie

Dear Mom and Dad,

I'm so grateful for you writing to me. I will try to have the shirts to you in another week or two. I finally saw somebody from my class come in. It was cool because I never really said hello to him in school but in the MTC it is totally different. So we were finally released from the assignment of zone leaders. I noticed something really interesting. I really enjoy talking and getting to know new people. It was weird and now that I am no longer zone leader I feel like it is harder to go up and talk to everybody. Still I am going to make a goal to go and meet the new districts coming in. One thing I really learned this week is just how awesome the story of Ammon is. When you are looking at it from a missionary standpoint he really taught to the investigators needs. It was really cool to reread. I am also finding out how wonderful the Book of Mormon is. I am actually excited to read it and study it. My Book of Mormon is beginning to look like Grandpa williams because it is getting really marked up. The language is coming along but I still feel like I am not even in the same realm as proficient. I am suprised to learn about the snow storm in Mongolia because I thought it wouldn't start getting cold yet. I have also really appreciated your prayers. I can feel them and I appreciate them. One of the coolest things that I have been pondering over lately is the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father when it comes to prayer. We had one of our investigators pray for us and it was really spiritual because the Mongolians have no idea what God is. It is sad yet great to see them to begin to develop the relationship. So last week we have M. Russel Ballard speak to us. It was really cool and I was only a good pen throw away. (please realize that I was not thinking about throwing a pen at Elder Ballard :) ) So it sound like things are going great at home. I could hear the BYU game but I couldn't hear any cannons so I knew it was going bad. I already know the score so you don't need to remind me. Oh well. I love you all and I am praying for you all every night. I'm so grateful for your examples and good luck.

Elder Williams or Ахлагч Үйлямс

Dear Kristalyn,

I hope you didn't go to the BYU football game. That was just not worth it. I hope you are having a great time at school. I am so grateful for the example you have set for me. It is pretty amazing to have someone like you to look up to. One thing I have lately really been focusing on is how the Holy Ghost works with me. It is so frustrating to try and figure out how I'm supposed to listen to the holy ghost and how he answers my questions. I am praying every night to figure this out and believe me it has been hard so far. But one good thing is that if I'm trying and worthy the Lord promises me the words I need to speak in the very moment I need to speak them. So, how is Peter? Tell him I'm grateful for his example he set for me. He may think I didn't know him that long but he has really helped me. I love you and keep up the good hard really hard really really hard reallllllllllllllly haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard work. :) I love you.

Elder Williams or Mouse :)

Dear Rachel,

I love you soo much. I really appreciate how hard you are studying the scriptures. Keep it up and keep reading Mistborn. Good luck.

Dear Caelen,

I'm soooooooooooooooooo glad you are liking choir. You can have a lot of cool musical experiences there. One thing you need to remember is that you will probably not like someone in your choir (You are in a WOMENS choir) so just kind of get over it and look at them as the Savior does. I really wish I had done this when I was in because I could have made soo many more friends. Oh and I am really surprised you like English. Try writing a story. You have the imagination for it. Caelen, how is it you can like animated characters?!! That is so weird :) I love you and good luck

Dear Rebecca

I'm so glad to hear you are making new friends. I lately have figured out I really enjoy talking to people and have really enjoyed getting to know a lot of elders. Don't DATE!!!! That is really weird. Also don't get older looking. That will be even weirder. Just keep up the good work in school and remember that you always have the Holy Ghost to rely on. Lately I have realized just how much he influences your life if you let him. Give it a shot and tell me about it. I love you and good luck.

Love Richie

Dear Dad, Mom and everyone else,
So today has been a really good week. I just got my haircut today and I don't have to worry about it again for a while. My language has improved quite a bit and I am beginning to be able to speak it more easily when I need to. For the first time in the TRC I was able to have a good lesson with us just teaching a member who was just that, a member. It felt a lot more like a discussion rather than me just spouting out some random promises the Lord can give them if they keep the commandments. It was really spiritual too because it was about the Plan of Salvation and it was just really cool. Also, I just wanted to share that one of my favorite lessons to teach is the one about prayer. It is really hard to teach Mongolians the concept of God. They really have no idea what or who God is. They have no idea that they really have someone who loves them watching over them. Sometimes I feel really heartbroken because they have no idea what kind of relationship that is. It is really cool to see our "investigators" pray to know if Heavenly Father is real. The Spirit always testifies so strongly. I am amazed every time the spirit I feel when it is their first prayer. Another great insight I found was when was reading King Benjamin's sermon. One of the verses said that if you believe in repentance and if you believe in Christ and believe in everything taught then you should "see that ye do them." this just really made me think back to times when you would believe something but you just simply wouldn't do it because who knows why. It was really cool and it really hit me as to how I could help my investigators with this. I'm just more and more amazed about how simple and beautiful God's plan is. It is just so wonderful that we can return to live with him and all we have to do is try our hardest. So, I heard about both the BYU games and I hope they get better. It sound like they are alright though. Next, Saturday I will be able to hear the fans at the Utah game. It will be really fun. So we really have a strong district. We are probably the strongest in the branch. So, zone leader stuff has continued. one night we had a problem with a few elders and me and elder stranski prayed to know what we should do. It was really cool because both of us had a prompting to speak to different elders. In the end the whole thing was resolved and I know that the spirit guided us. I have also had to stand in a blessing for several missionaries we had to send home. It was really spiritual and as far as we can tell they will be coming back as soon as they can. I'm really praying for you all and I have been praying for a miracle every night. I love you all. Have a great time. (By the way I will get some shirts for you all but if you could transfer a few dollars on my debit card for them that would be appreciated.)

Love Elder Williams

Dear Kristalyn,
I hope school is going okay and I am appreciative of your dear elders. they have really brightened up my day. I can tell you are working hard and all I can say is just keep going. That is all I am doing right now. I'm so grateful for your example and I hope you go to the BYU Utah game. I love you.

Dear Rebecca,

I hope you are doing good in Senior year. Just keep moving and enjoy every minute of it because it doesn't last that long. I miss your joking and I hope you are tickling Caelen and RAchel for me. I love you so much and just remember that the left side of your brain controls the right side of your body and vice versa :) I love you.

Dear Caelen, you have to promise me you will read the next Mistborn when it comes out. It will be really cool. I hope you are having a good freshman year so far. It isn't as bad as you think. You will have a great time if you let yourself. Always remember to try and meet new people because that is what I am doing right now. I love you.

Dear Rachel, I miss you sooooo much. Keep on reading the book of Mormon. The more and more I read it I just realize how the first part of Moroni's promise works in where he tells you to remember how merciful the lord has been. There are so many times in the book of Mormon where Heavenly Father loves his children. He really is more of God of mercy than anything else. School is 98% attitude and if you try your hardest you actually will feel quite good about all you have done. And if you meet and make new friends a better bonus for you. Keep up the good work (By the way we have an Australian in our zone. And guess what, he does not have blond hair.) :) I love you and good luck

Dear Dad and Mom and Grandma Rawle and Grandma Williams,

I hope everything is alright at home. Mom I just want you to know that I have been praying for you constantly and I have put your name in the temple. So this week has been pretty good. Tomorrow my companion and I are going to try and speak our language for half of the day and then on Friday try and go the whole day. (also, our teacher won't tell us about a mugging story in Mongolia unless we go a full day in our language) I really have had a good week though. I really want to get to Mongolia. It is really hard watching all these other missionaries just able to be in here for 3 or 6 weeks where they just pretty much get to leave straight off. I'm really excited to get there. I have really immersed myself in the scriptures this week. It has been an amazing experience. One of the spiritual things I have learned this week has really hit me the last several days. I just realized how merciful and wonderful Heavenly Father's plan is. It never really occurred to me just how much God wants us to be happy. I have just looked at the many chances Heavenly Father gives to all men so they can come and return to live with him. Even those who do not get to return to live with God in the Celestial kingdom still get to receive glory. They will all be happy in their own way. It just makes me realize how much our Heavenly Father truly loves all of us. He tried as hard as he could to get us all to be happy. Elder Jeffery R. Holland spoke this last Tuesday and it was the most amazing talk I have ever heard. One of the things that struck me that he said was when he said just how much Heavenly Father loves us. He said that we just needed to truly think about how much our earthly parents love us. He said that he would do anything for his children. And then he said that if that was the love of an earthly parent just how much more would our Heavenly Father who is perfect love all of us individually? The amount is something I could never comprehend. I sometimes get so happy thinking about Heavenly Father's plan of salvation that I could just yell. It is sooo cool. Alright, now to answer some questions. So meeting with the new district was fun. Elder Stranski and I really did well in telling them all the rules and stuff like that. It was cool because the second day they came down looking for advice on how they should deal with a Bible bashing investigator they had. Though we didn't have great advice they said the next lesson went really well. The new district had 11 missionaries and the next one coming in tomorrow has 8. So I get to do the orientation all over again. But it is fun because I get to know them and where they are from. So I have tried to get to know most of the elders in our zone and it is coming along pretty good. My schedule right now is pretty busy because I have to do some zone leader stuff but it is still pretty good. We usually have gym in the mornings (sometimes at 6:30) but it is good. Most of our class room and personal study is at night and that is pretty nice. The food is really good but I have been here long enough that it is all kind of the same. By the way Uncle Matt and Aunt Carla sent me a loaf of bread and a few other treats and it has been great. They do have a toaster in the cafeteria but i usually don't have time to go over there. The choir practices two times a week and we perform every Tuesday devotional. It is really a good experience. We have learned somethings about Mongolian culture but culture day isn't until a few more weeks. A few interesting things. When ever you bump someone else's foot you have to shake their hand and one of you says sorry and then the other says it is okay. The funny thing is that when you are walking down the street, if you do it, they will just stick out their hand from behind and not even look at you. Also they are a really loving people. They will give you food all the time but I heard that most of the missionaries drop 30 pounds in the first 6 months. They also really like to look at family pictures. Another thing they do is they are really open about others imperfections. You can really joke around with someone about any weird thing about their body and no one is offended. I can't wait to get there. So we did have a class for english teaching our first week and I have my certificate to go and be able to teach there. We are also supposed to read a huge textbook on teaching english. It is still pretty cool though. I really enjoy my companion, he is great and really helps me out. It has been an awesome time. Just yesterday we had a really powerful lesson with one of our investigators about the Book of Mormon. I love you all and I hope you are all doing well. PS send how many t-shirts you want and who they are for next week.

Elder Williams or Ахлагч Үйлямс

Dear Matt and Carla and Family,

Thank you so much for the package you gave me. I am especially grateful for the loaf of bread. It really made me happy and you all made my day. I love you and I am so grateful for the examples you have set for me. You really may not understand just how much you have helped me but believe me it was major. I love you all and thank you.

Dear Devin Rawle, thanks for sending me the Dear Elder. It made a hard day a lot easier. I have heard of missionaries looking for objects in the Narnia holes and I am trying to make a stash myself. Thanks for you be such a great example and I hope you have a great time.

Dear Dad and Mom,
So this week has been really quite good. I've kind of gotten over the initial shock of what is going on with Mom right now. I know everything will turn out for the better just as D&C 122 says. I'm so grateful for your love and your prayers. I can feel them everyday because there is no way I could learn the language without them. The language is coming along. It is still pretty tough though. By the way, my companion and I have just been made the new zone leaders. It is tough because we have to address anything that is going wrong or isn't in accordance with the Spirit. I'm a little worried about it because I'm not sure if I can still learn the language as well if I have to miss a little class. I'm just relying on the Lord right now though. It has been pretty crazy. Tomorrow we have to meet with a new district for the first time. It is really weird. Today I went to the temple and instead of doing endowments we went and started with iniatories. It was really cool. But the thing I wanted to talk about was what we did next. We went and were proxies as children in the sealing room. Since it was my first time I was totally blown away. We also were able to see some sealings of husband and wife. The Spirit was so strong and I couldn't help but think about how overcome I would be if I could see the Mongolian people being able to do the same thing. It was absolutely stunning, espcially some of the promises given there. I'm so grateful that I'm sealed to my parents and want you to know how much I look up to you for being sealed. It made me realize just how strong our bond as a family is. I hope and pray everyday that I will be able to endure to the end and be with you in the Celestial kingdom. I love you and hope you are doing fine.
Love, Ахлагч Williams

Dear Kristalyn,
This week has been pretty good so far. I'm dealing with Mom's ordeal well and I know everything will be alright. If you get a chance you should read D&C 122. (you probably have already read this). It has really been a great week so far. I can finally (with the Holy Ghost's help) speak Mongolian rather well in our lessons. Except that is to our teachers. We had a native speaker just recently and it was literally impossible to understand her because she talked really fast and she didn't speak up. I guess that is how all Mongolian girls are though. It has been pretty cool though. I am finally able to put together sentences together. I am still kind of worried about learning this language though. Yeah, this week me and my companion were asked to be the Zone leaders. It is pretty tough because if anything gets out of hand back at the dorms me and him have to take care of it. It is okay though. We also have to show all the new missionaries how to live. And a whole bunch of other stuff. The one thing I hate the most about P-Day is the laundry. It is torture getting it done with a whole bunch of other elders sitting around just watching for a free washer. So enough about me. I'm so glad that you were able to start class. Don't stress about it. You have always done fine and you will continue to do fine. I bet you will love going to all the BYU football games and guess what, you had better go to all of them. You are a cougar now and that takes a lot of hard work. Well good luck! Keep up the good work and have a great time there. I love you soooo much. Ахлагч Williams

Dear Becky,
So you are finally living it up in Senior year. I promise it is not as bad as it sounds. You will do fine. I'm so grateful for you being my sister. It has been so good going outside and playing frisbee or just talking. I hope you have a wonderful Senior year, and always remember that it is so much more fun to be yourself. Just relax and have fun. So, I'm doing fine, and my companion is too. We are still getting used to being Zone Leaders but I think we will get the hang of it. The language is coming along and my testimony is being strengthened day by day. Except for the fact that this is, in an essence a very very spiritual........prison. I can't wait to be out and teaching the gospel to the Mongolian people. Remember to have fun and once and a while try and talk to someone you don't know. I love you.
Love Richie

Dear Caelen,
So I'm sure your a little scared about highschool but there is no reason to be. Especially with Rebecca there. She will protect you from all the evil students there. Just tell her to slap someone and she will. By the way i though you might appreciate this. In Mongolian, everything sound just like Yoda speaks. If I were to say "I am having a bad day" it would sound like this. "I bad day am having" It is a little weird to think up sentences but it is okay. Have fun in highschool Caelen. One thing I am really beginning to learn is that everything is 100% attitue and I mean that. it is all how you view the world around you. Good luck in math and good luck in your new art classes. I love you.
Love Richie aka Reggie (by the way your package is coming)

Dear Rachel,
So seventh grade is happening. It is a little scary but you don't need to worry. It is all about if you use it as and opportunity or a cursing. I am so proud of you especially you and all the advances you are making. you are going to grow up to be a strong young woman and I can tell that. Just keep on the track and everything will be fine. Never let anyone ever tell you different. So, you have better been making a movie list for me. I don't want to miss any good movies just because you haven't been watching any lately. ;) keep up on the mistborn series. They are really good and promise me you will read the next one that is coming out in November. Keep up on your scripture reading. That is where the most good will come. I hope you will get through Alma. It is long but it is filled with gems all along the way. Good luck and I love you.
Love Richie

Есүс Христ бол бидний аврагч гэж би гэрлэж баина учраас би аз жаргэлтай баина. гэр бүл бол мөнх гэдгээг би мэднэ учраас би баярдэг.
(I testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior, therefore I am happy. i know that families are eternal therefore I rejoice.)
I love you all and wish you the best.

For those that do not know, last Thursday night, Richie's mom was taken to the hospital. She hasn't left since. They found six masses in various places in her abdomen--they guessed that it was Lymphoma Cancer. To everyone, this was a complete shock. Although the doctors are still doing tests, she hopefully will be able to come home soon. We appreciate all of the friends and family that have prayed for Mom.
Richie just barely found out about Mom today. He talked to Mom and Dad early this morning. Here was his response today:

Dear Dad and Mom,
Today has been really hard for me but I have had a lot of spiritual insights. I admit I am really worried and apprehensive. Thank you for the email. It was something I needed because I will be the first to admit that I was a little bitter when I first heard. I was also in a lot of shock. I'll be open with you in telling you that I have prayed very sincerely for our family's financial situation. I even asked for a miracle from Heavenly Father because I know that eventually you won't be able to work and easily support yourselves. So, last night I really prayed for a miracle. And then this. At first I wondered why it happened to me but then in the temple the spirit gave me some inspiration. First, it testified to me that the miracle I had asked for has already taken place. The "cancer" has been found and that it could have been found a lot later. I realized that Heavenly Father will always answer my prayers if I have sincere desire. The last thing I had happen to me was a little voice in my head, whether my own thoughts or one from another source, told me that this is molding me and us, for us to become something better and stronger. I have since gone and prayed and asked for forgiveness of the faithless thought I've had and have asked his help in everything. I love you both. I don't think I could have asked for better parents. You may think that I am just saying that but it is so true. I too, have been born of goodly parents as Nephi was. I'm so grateful for the example you have set for me and I love you both. So, now past all that this week has been pretty good. I'm learning the language better and I can feel the Holy Ghost speaking through me. I have also felt your love and prayers. I am finally able to put down my phrase book while I am talking and communicate better. I still can't comprehend that much but that is slowly coming along. By the way, I got your package and am so thankful for it. The cookies are fabulous and I am having a good time. Grandma, thank you for the letter. That was just what I needed, right when I got it. It really got me thinking about how some years ago you and grandpa were here. Now to anwer some of your questions. I have been in the choir and it has been a really good experience. My district consists of 8 elders (including me) and zero sisters. I actually enjoy having no sisters because it is really a brotherhood in our district. The other two elders that couldnt' get their VISA's finally did. They are in Mongolia right now. I am already excited to get to Mongolia. I love you all. Ахлагч Williams

Hi Kristalyn!! I'm kind of having a hard time right now. I just learned about Mom and it is really tough espciallly when I have been praying so hard for our family. I'll be honest with you. The night before, I had sincerely prayed for a miracle with our family's financial situation. I knew that it wouldn't be long before it would be really hard for Dad and Mom to work to make money the rest of their lives. I earnestly prayed for a miracle. Then I heard about Mom. I admit at first I was a little bitter. How could Heavenly Father do this to me while I was serving a mission? Then when I was in the temple several thought came to my mind. The first one was that there was a miracle. I just hadn't seen it. The miracle is that they did find it, and that it is not to bad to deal with. I have been really trying hard to develop the faith to have Mom healed totally and completely. When they were talking to me on the phone the only thing I could think of was that this wasn't really happening. I was in shock for like 10 minutes. I then decided to pray right after the telephone call. I prayed that somehow my family could still be blessed and that it would be easy for them to pay for my mission and the chemotherapy. It is so hard. I then thanked Heavenly Father for all he has given me. Already I have prayed and prayed for him to help me with all the thoughts welled up inside me and hopefully forgive me for all the negative thoughts. Thank you for emailing me and I hope your time at BYU is well spent. I love you and please keep me posted on Mom's medical condition. Dad said he would too, but I would like an opinion also from the outside. I don't think you realize what a great example you have been to me. You probably don't even realize just how much I love you. I love you sooooooooo much. ;) Good luck and have fun. Ахлагч Williams

Dear Becky, So how is highschool. I know it might be pretty hard, especially right now but everything will be okay. Good luck and remember that being yourself is a whole lot funner than being somebody else. Also you need to try out for every solo you can in choir. You need to remember that if you have faith and just open your mouth than beautiful things can come out. I'm kind of learning this principle right now. Always put your trust in Heavenly Father first, even before yourself. I love you.

Dear Caelen, Highschool is tough and especially freshman year but it sounds like you hardly have to walk down freshman hall so you are lucky. Thank you for the kneadable eraser you gave me. It brought me back to the good old days when that was all I did in front of the TV. Caelen, don't you worry about anything. Heavenly Father will make it alright in the end. And always remember he is there watching over you and that through prayer you can always confide your deepest feelings to him even when you feel like nobody else will want to listen. I love you and by the way Happy Birthday. I'm sending you a gift and I hope you like it. By the way if anyone else wants the gift I'm giving you, they will have to send up some money so I can order some for them. I love you

Dear Rachel, I really miss you right now. I just love seeing your smiling giggling face every day. I know I teased you a lot but you have to know that I really didn't mean anything I say. More and more I'm regretting teasing you so much. Please forgive me for that. Rachel know that you are a beautiful daughter of God, and always have that at the front of your mind. You are turning into a young woman and Heavenly Father loves you. Rachel I hope someone is tickling you, because right now I can't really reach that far. Have a great day and I love you.

I know this email was a little somber but don't worry I'll be fine and so will you all. Have fun and tell Shylo to work out. би та нарт хайртай (I love you all or the actual translation I you all with love) By the way I'm pretty sure the way I wrote that was wrong.

Ахлагч Williams

Dear Dad and Mom,

I am doing really great today. We were just able to go to the temple for the first time and it was really spiritual. The Provo Utah temple is a beautiful temple and I'm so thankful I could go there. By the way, I am having enough bread to eat. In fact, maybe a little too much. I've been watching my eating but it is really hard not to eat a lot of food. I heard that you lose weight in Mongolia and I think it is pretty accurate (I Hope). But don't worry I haven't really gained any weight. So my daily schedule is quite busy. It usually involves 6 hours of class time and about 4 hours of personal study time with about another hour of personal language study. I have PE 5 days out of the week. We have about 50 minutes to just go and play whatever we want. I normally stick to the basketball courts even though I'm not the best. I really do it just so i can get exercise. It is really fun though and we also play some really competitive four square. IT is awesome!!! I have also just recently started choir with all of my district. We all are musical so we are all really enjoying it. Our service is really cool, because we have to set up the entire gym for the devos and firesides. It holds about 2000 missionaries. I finally got my EFL certificate so the only thing I need left to get me into Mongolia is for a company over there to sponsor me. The language is slowly coming, but I personally feel it is not coming fast enough. by the way, I mispelled the way to say elder. It is actually Axlthlagch. But you just keep spelling it the way you have before. My mouth is finally beginning to get around the sounds of Mongolian. I am constantly feeling the spirit here and it is just amazing. I have never felt this kind of constant companionship with the Holy Ghost in all my life. And yes I have gotten the Dear Elders. Mom, I did get your package and I really liked the chex mix. I was wondering if you could also send a few extra t-shirts up here. but make sure they have writing because I don't want them to look like garment tops. It has been a pretty busy week. I got to do my first TRC, and it is pretty much like being in a observation room while you are teaching with cameras pointing at you and people watching you in the other room. the weirdest thing about the MTC is how distorted time is here. The days are sooooo long yet when I look back I realize that the week is pretty much over. It is so weird. Well, the other two elders that are going to Mongolia still haven't got their VISA's and we are a little scared about it we can get them. But it has been a wonderful week. By the way Mom I'm not dead and can still touch you last after my mission. I love you.

Kristalyn, I got your dear elder and I am glad you sent it to me. I love you soo much and good luck at BYU!! (I can see most of all the campus from here)

Becky, Your first date? I'm going to have to come home right now and talk with you if you keep this up. Just kidding! That is so cool and I hope your face goes really red. And you want to go out again?! This is getting pretty serious. By the way good luck with your senior year. Hint, there are guys at your school that would like to date you too. But don't do it until I get back. I love you.

Caelen, I got your dear elder and I can totally tell it was you. Who else puts hehehehehe on a letter. Well this is really weird that you are growing up and you are a freshman. (NO MORE DANCES) I love you.

Rachel, you haven't been with any guys right? Well I hope so. I heard about your gourds and that is really cool. I hope you have a good seventh grade. It is pretty weird at first but you will get used to it. I really miss you and I love you.

Well sorry if the end of my letter was pretty quick but they have a little timer up in the right hand corner that says I need to get off in 45 seconds I love you all and I so thankful that you are my family. (DON'T GET OLD)

It is finally my P day. It has been a great couple of days. At first I was a little homesick but I really got over it pretty quickly, especially after the Sunday devotionals. My companion's name is Elder Stranski and he is really awesome. Sorry, I don't know if I will have any time to send pictures this time because we are having four hours of our P day taken out due to our EFL training. I have met several Mongolian elders and sisters here. One of the sisters told us that we were the answer to her prayers because she had prayed for missionaries to be able to get back into Mongolia. It was really spiritual. The language is one of the hardest here and it really shows. At first I almost felt overwhelmed but through lots and lots of prayers I was able to begin to pick things up a little faster. The way to say Elder in Mongolian can't actually be spelled out on the computer so I will Romanize it for you. You would say it Aklagch. It has taken quite a long time for me to be able to say the g and the ch all in one consonant sound. Also, one of the hardest letters in the alphabet has the sound of LTHL. I just stick my tongue to the top of my mouth and say it. We have already taught an "investigator" 3 times. It was really hard at first, because it is hard to read the new alphabet and I couldn't pick up anything he was saying. But, after the third lesson I began to feel like we were using a little more of the Spirit, and I could finally understand a tiny tiny tiny bit. I am feeling the Holy Ghost constantly through the day. It is like a little peaceful fire that is always in my chest. It feels so cool. Our district has 8 elders all going to Mongolia the same time I will. Two others were there before us but there Visa still hasn't come in and we are all still a little worried about that. Right now I have a little bit of a cold because one of the other elders in our district came in with a little cold. I think that just a few more days and I should be over with it though. By the way, if you want me to get letters really quick go and use Dear Elder .com. They copy out and email and stick it right in the mailroom. I am really excited to be here and you guys don't need to worry about me. I'm learned so much about the gospel of Christ and how the Atonement can apply to everyone. I have really had a strong witness that my Heavenly Father loves me and I am so grateful for it. Now on a personal note, don't have Kristalyn come and see me at the MTC. Everyone else is making a sacrifice and so I will too. If I see her I will shake her hand, say hello, and then explain that I have to leave. I don't know my mailing address but I think mom actually has it. Also when you write it put my full name because there was another Richard Williams that came in on the same day. I love you all and good luck with everything.

Richie

His 1st little letter!

Written the first evening he enter the MTC
　
Dear Dad, Mom and family,
I have officially survived the first day of the MTC. There were some little times when I felt a little overwhelmed, but as things came to a close, I felt a lot better. My companions name is Elder Stanski who is from New York. He is pretty awesome and is way more outgoing than I was. I will try harder though.
We got to have a huge group lesson with individuals. I didn’t say anything but there are some great missionaries here. There were about 500 who came in with me, and we are the very first to be taught in a new curriculum. The others in my room are Elder Newberg from Missouri and Elder Call from Springville.
It has be one huge day. Right now, I’m just worried about being able to get a shower in the morning, and if I will have any huge problems with warts. I’m so glad that I am here, but it is a little scary.
Good luck at home, and I love you all. I’m still a little weirded out that I’m actually here, but I know I’ll get over it. I love you all!
　
Love,
Elder Richie Williams

Richie is in the MTC

Elder Richard Ronald Rawle Williams is officially in the MTC! It was hard to let him go, but we are soo proud and happy for him!

Stay updated! We will post Richie's letters and photos!