Richardson, Olivia PT

Sister Richardson's Super Split Second Hello, beautiful people! I hope you had a wonderful week because I sure did! Actually, I've had a wonderful year and a half, and I truly cannot believe I'm writing my final email to all of you. It feels like just yesterday, I was sitting in my kitchen brainstorming horrendous, alliterated titles for what would become my weekly split seconds. First, I want to thank each of you for following along on my journey, for sending me words of encouragement, and for offering many, many prayers on my behalf. I've truly felt your efforts lifting me and encouraging me through the ups and downs of my mission, so THANK YOU! A few weeks back, I was putting on my shoes to walk out the door. I knew the rubber soles had cracked in a few places, but I wasn't too concerned. However, as I looked down, I realized the extent to which I had worn them out, and I was shocked. One shoe had a chunk of rubber missing, and the other wasn’t much better—the to...

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds Hello, lovely people! We had ourselves a week—ups and downs, miracles, good people, crazy people, cool weather, hot weather, pretty leaves, and mostly just a lot of growth! We've been having some Halloween fun with our members! It's amazing what you can come up with when you can't sleep at night, lol. See pics below for a sneak peek. On Saturday, Sister Wallin and I decided that we would see a super cool miracle! We said some mighty prayers, and boy, oh boy, did we see a miracle. We were knocking on some doors, and we met James! James' mom originally opened the door, told us she had COVID, and slammed the door shut. As we were waiting for the next door to open, James rushed out and said, "Wait! Does your church do Facebook ads? Because I think I've seen them before, and I want to learn more!" We immediately responded yes and got to teach him on the spot! At the very end of the lesson, James shyly asked, while poi...

Sister Richardson's Super Split Seconds As you all know, I've never been shy about sharing my realities. With that in mind, people were mean, and I mean mean this week. It doesn't really hurt me anymore, but it also doesn't make for a great email home. On top of that, I had a lot of unexpected anxiety about ending my mission pop up, so this week was... really something. With that, I thought I'd keep it brief and share some of what's been bouncing around my head for the last 18 months. Growing up, whenever I experienced a setback or some sort of defeat in softball, my dad would often tell me, "The game's not over until it is." In other words, regardless of how far behind you may be, you always have the ability to make a comeback because there's still time left on the clock. This simple yet powerful idea has stuck with me in so many different phases of life, but especially on my mission. There have been many moments when I felt so defeated that t...