Richardson, Olivia PT

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds Unfortunately, the title is a direct quote from the weather app on Friday. Super nice weather out here in Alexandria. "Sweaty" would be an understatement for the look we are sporting. We taught so many lessons this week! When I first arrived in the mission field, teaching stressed me out and terrified me. I felt inadequate, underqualified, unprepared, and overwhelmed at the thought of how much I didn't know. I still have moments where I feel that way, but I've also grown to absolutely love teaching! I quickly realized that the more I focused on Christ, the easier it was to explain the teachings of Christ. Amazing how that works, right? We overcomplicate things far too often. Don't let all the things you don't understand or comprehend draw your focus away from Christ. He truly is the center of all things, and when our focus is on Him, we can overcome our struggles, weaknesses, questions, concerns, and more! Our big ad...

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds *Disclaimer: This is a little longer, but I couldn't skip sharing Clara's story. If you're bored, don't read it. I'm not offended. :) * Clara. Where do I begin? Clara is a single mom who we randomly met 2.5 weeks ago in a parking lot. We invited her to church and now she's set to be baptized on August 5th! Her life hasn't been anywhere close to easy, but she sees how turning towards Christ makes the challenges of life easier to carry. Watching the atonement work in her life has been one of the most sacred experiences of my life. She's hilarious and just so real. She's literally my soul sister. She calls us her angels and rays of sunshine, which always cracks me up because that's exactly what she is to me. It's easy to question your purpose as a missionary, but Clara is a reminder to me of why I chose to serve a mission and of the divine plans God has for each of us. Everyone's journey in life is...

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds Good things take time. Something I've always known but have really come to understand on my mission. We have to have faith and patience that God's plans are bigger than ours. For example, after a few weeks of rejection, we managed to find 12 new people this week. On Wednesday, we found seven new people in the span of three hours who were interested in coming to church with us, and on Sunday, four of them showed up! Sometimes I literally feel like I'm on another planet out here. There are some interesting characters up in here, and I just love it. For my AZ friends, picture the crew of people on Thomas and 44th Street, and you'll get the idea. Sirens are the new white noise. Transfers are Friday??? I don't know how it's been six weeks already! Someone told me, "The days feel like weeks, and the weeks feel like days on a mission," and I've never more perfectly understood something. Mission life is no joke, ...

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds The amount of unexpected turns this week took is genuinely unreal. So much so that my companion and I are convinced we are being pranked by someone or something. To list a few moments: Our apartment partially flooded, and when maintenance came to fix it, the guy punched a hole in our wall and just left before fixing the leak or the hole. So now our apartment just smells like moldy carpet (barf). The 4th of July was quite EXPLOSIVE. So much so that one of the elders got sick from the food a member fed us and spent the entire dinner on the toilet. The joke was on us though, because we felt sick later too. Nana got baptized! There was such a special spirit present, and seeing her radiate pure joy brought tears to my eyes. Definitely the highlight of my week! While this week was definitely on par with that of a dumpster fire, I wouldn't change it for the world. President Russell M. Nelson said, "When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Ch...

Sister Richardson's Split Seconds Happy (early) 4th from our nation's capital (sorta, lol)! I'm truly so grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in the USA, and I'm so thankful for all the men and women who make sacrifices in their lives for our freedom. It's hot, humid, and smoky here in good old Alexandria. Lucky for us, we spent most of the week walking because we ran out of miles for our car. Exchanges (swapping companions for the day) were so fun with Sister Johnson! We literally couldn't stop laughing all day long. We also got absolutely drenched in the rain and had to go knocking in soaking wet clothes (pictured below). Spent lots of time in the ghetto. Lots of good laughs and humbling moments. And more insane dogs. Nana is getting baptized on Saturday! Seeing the joy radiate from her has been one of the biggest testaments to me of the joy we feel when we grow closer to Christ. Bonus moment: A member in our congregation fed us the most delicious meal and made ...