Hi Pania,
How are you today? I just wanted to write and tell you that I spoke with your son today. He is SUCH a good person. He was concerned that we didn't have your new address in the office. You had given it to me in a previous email, so we are okay!!!
However, my real reason for writing is to share something I just knew you would want to hear. President Ridd has to read 180 letters from the missionaries every single week. It takes him hours and hours. I am often in the office here at home as he is reading, but I just do my own work, while he is sitting on the other side of the office, reading.
This afternoon, as he was reading, he said, "I should send this letter to Elder Heimuli's mom." Then he read a part of Elder' Jenkins' letter out loud to me. (I generally never know what the weekly letters say). Elder Jenkins is Elder Heimuli's new companion. This is only Elder Jenkins' second change in the mission. He and Elder Heimuli have only been together about a week and a half. After President read what Elder Jenkins had said about your son, I asked him if he would email just a part of it to you. He said that although he would love to, he didn't think he should. The letters he receives are written personally just to him, and he wants to keep the confidence of the missionaries. I hope you are following all of this.
I think I took the long way around getting to the good part...... Although Elder Jenkins was trained by someone other than Elder Heimuli (for one change), it wasn't until he received Elder Heimuli as a companion that he really started to love the mission.
He talked about how patient and powerful Elder Heimuli is, and how he was doing so much better with his Spanish because Elder Heimuli was helping him, and how he was teaching more and more of the lessons now, and he went on and on.
It was a beautiful testimony of what a wonderful companionship should be, and the effect an obedient, loving, senior companion can have on an impressionable new missionary. We were touched by the letter, and felt such a profound love and appreciation for Elder Heimuli.
There, I shared the letter with you, anyway....I hope I'm not in big trouble!!! (Just kidding). As a mother I just had to share this with you.
I hope you are all well and happy and doing well in this new year.
Love,
Sister Ridd
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