Wednesday, June 14, 2017

WELCOME HOME ELDER RASH! Well Done!

May 23rd, 2017 at 9:15a.m. at Sky Harbor Airport....this happened!!!!



He's HOME!!!  Look at that smile!



FINALLY getting my hug!


Daddy is proud!


Baby sister missed her brother!


They are so glad to see each other!



Big brother loves his little brother



Grandma was filming and hugging at the same time!


Emmy not to sure about having Ryland home!


Other than his mother, someone else was pretty happy to see him!


All the wonderful family and friends who welcomed Ryland home!


Our family happy to have Ryland home




Proud Parents








Best.Friends.EVER


Davis kiddos


McCabe Familly


Foster Family


She is one proud sister


Mom couldn't get enough hugs


Displaying all his treasures from Mozambique








Shoes say a lot about a missionary!  My boy walked and talked for miles and miles in Mozambique!

Monday, May 15, 2017

Week 100: LAST E-MAIL from Africa...Farewell Mozambique


As I've gone throughout my mission I've looked at the end of 2 years as the end of my time as a missionary. I always thought that as soon as I take off the tag all of those responsibilities are taken off with it; some days I could not wait for my time to be over, and some days I wish it would never end. I've come to see the mission field as a training ground, and the tag- training wheels. When the training wheels come off, it then becomes more vital that I apply all of the principles and skills that I learned while I had the training wheels. During these past two years I've learned a thing or two about myself and about life in general, and I'd like to just share some brief things in my last email and also share my testimony with you.
I took a look at my white shirts the other day and to me they still look bright, white, and clean. Then I put my shirt side to side with Elder Carlson's shirt and realized just how stained, dark, and filthy my shirts have become during the mission. What I'm trying to get at is that you never really notice how flawed you truly are, until you compare yourself to something perfect. As a missionary, that is what I have done every single day as I have tried to develop Christ-like Attributes. I have learned that I am lazy. I am prideful. I judge people very quickly. I am a hypocrite. I am dishonest. I have a low level of self-accountability. I am not the man that a lot of people see me as, and I am not the man that I wish I were.

I reached a point some time back where I became very discouraged as I realized how flawed I am as a person, missionary, Priesthood holder, etc, and it seemed absolutely impossible to obey the Savior's command when he said,
"Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am." -3 Nephi 27:27

I thought about how distant I was from becoming like Christ. However with time I realized that I will likely never be able to reach that level of perfection in this life, but that's okay! It is my responsibility to try every day to put off the natural man and to repent of my shortcomings (Mosiah 3:19).

I am still very far from perfection and I find more and more flaws in myself each day; but I have come to look at these weaknesses as an opportunity to become stronger, rather than a hindrance (Ether 12:27).
I have also come to the realization of just how truly blessed I have been to have the gospel in my life. Something that I never recognized before my mission is how man blessings we receive from the Gospel. Back home I was surrounded by members of the church who applied fairly well the principles of the gospel and even those who are not members of this church still live a Christian lifestyle and are blessed because of it. My whole life I have been surrounded by the blessings of living the gospel and I did not know what life was like without that environment. Now I do. I see the destitute living conditions in which people live; not only physically, but also spiritually. I see an abundant lack of blessings in their lives because of an abundant lack of the gospel. I have been blessed time and time again to have the privilege of seeing the gospel make a change in people's lives. During the mission I have gained a much greater level of gratitude for how blessed I have been by the Lord to have given me a family who raised me in the gospel. I know that as we live the gospel and keep the commandments, we are blessed (Mosiah 2:41).

President Koch taught us numerous times that a testimony is the result of what comes into our heart and into our mind.      Heart    +      Mind     =      Testimony
He then proceeded to teach us that a testimony is not sufficient for salvation. We need to be converted. Conversion is a result of application of our testimony.      Testimony     +      Application    =     Conversion

As my testimony as been increasing and as I have continued to live worthy of the revelation that I receive, my testimony has been strengthened (Alma 32: 27-43). As I have applied that which the Lord has revealed to me, I have become more converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Alma 37: 41-43, D&C 50:24, 2 Nephi 28:30)
I took a look at my testimony these past few weeks and I noticed that my testimony has been majorly strengthened in 3 key principles; Scripture Study, Obedience, and the Love that God has for His children.

I have a testimony that the scriptures show us where to turn for a remission of our sins (2 Nephi 25:26). That through the scriptures we learn what we must do to be saved and follow Christ (D&C 131:6).
I know that obedience to the commandments brings blessings and happiness. Whenever we are obedient to the commandments of God, He blesses us. I was aware of this principle when I was at home, but during the mission I have really recognized that it is true. Obedience brings blessings and happiness (Mosiah 2:41).

I have also had my testimony strengthened about the Love the God has for us as His children (Romans 8: 35-39, John 3:16-17). I know that God loves us. He is our literal Father and everything that God does for us and all that He allows to happen to us is because of His eternal love for us.
What will I miss most about the mission?

The thing that I think I will miss the most about the mission and about Mozambique is the people. I have come to love Mozambicans. They are family to me. They are so humble, accepting, kind, accommodating, respectful and pure hearted. By far the thing that I will miss the most about the mission is the Mozambican people and their culture.
What will I take home with me?
-A deep love for the scriptures.

-A new view of people as precious children of God.

-A higher appreciation for my parents.

-A greater understanding of the Gospel and the Will of God.

-An understanding of the importance of the Family Unit.

-A love of the Temple.

-A desire to share the Gospel with Everyone.

-A stronger relationship with my Father in Heaven and with my Savior Jesus Christ.

-An increased faith in God and His promises.

-An Appreciation for Hard Work.

I wish that I had more time to write about the mission, but my time is limited. But to end I want to bare my testimony.
God lives. He loves us. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savior and redeemer. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can be saved from our sins. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and the most correct book on the face of the Earth. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He did in fact see what he said he saw. Thomas Monson is the living prophet of the living God. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's kingdom on the earth.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.
3 John 1:13-14

Elder Ryland Rash



The sun

has set

on

Elder Rash's

mission in

Maputo, Mozambique
Well Done thou good and faithful servants!

A piece of Elder Rash's heart will always be in Mozambique!







 

Week 99: Breaking records and ending his mission on a high note!


Our week was amazing! We are breaking tons of mission records! haha! Things are going really well! We had 44 investigators at church on Sunday, 6 families, we will have 17 baptisms this Saturday! We are just going crazy with work! Elder Carlson is LOVING the work! We are working SO HARD and he is keeping me really busy! He is an amazing missionary and more than ready to take over the area when I leave. He knows exactly what he is doing and how to work hard! We haven't had too much rain, but it still does fall every once in a while. The weather has been absolutely amazing! Really cool outside. I am still living with Elder Price and Elder Donker! I love living with these guys! We had a Zone Conference with P. Senna and got to know them pretty well. I really like them. They are super nice. Very different from P and S Koch! But I LOVE LOVE LOVE President and Sister Koch!

Elder and Sister Koch will be in the States for 2 months, and Elder Larsen and I are already planning a trip through Utah with some dates and we are gonna meet up with P. Koch and S. Koch and go to lunch or something!
As for Skype... I have decided that I am not going to Skype this Mother's day. I will see you guys a few days later and I don't see the need to talk to you guys... I know you really wanted to talk to me and see me, but I am going to be with you guys just a few days later. You can be patient.

I'm just kidding! So Elder Carlson and I will be Skyping from our chapel on Sunday afternoon (morning for you guys), at 7 am your time. Have everything set up and ready to go by 6:30, is that possible? Sorry it is so early, but it is the best time I could get. So Sunday Morning, 7am, you will see my beautiful face. I am not sure how quality the internet is at the chapel, or how good the camera on the laptop is, but if it doesn't work, I will just have to call you guys on the phone!
As for my agenda of going home. We will fly down to Maputo on Thursday and be there until Monday. I know that Elder Larsen's Dad will be there to pick him up, and they invited me to walk around with them for a couple of days and help Elder Larsen show his Dad around the city! So I will be with them on Friday and Saturday, probably. And I don't know the whole schedule that President and Sister Senna have for us... But I will let you know next week.

I don't know if I will be able to send you pics and emails. The upload speed is really slow... I'm sorry. But you will be able to see all of my pics of my whole mission in about 14 days! So don't complain!

I love you so much Mom. I hope you have a wonderful week. I will see you all on Sunday!
Elder Ryland Rash

Even missionaries need to take a break and enjoy a popsicle every now and then

Enjoying a beautiful sunset



Monday, April 24, 2017

Week 98: Weddings and baptisms....Oh my!!!!


This week has been really busy. Elder Carlson and I have been running around from place to place trying to get so many people taught and get them ready for their baptisms on the 13th of May! We are trying to get two weddings all planned out and ready for the 6th of May, and there is a lot of work to be done to get everything ready! 

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about Alfredo and Anora and about their situation, and there have been a few more developments in that story that I want to make you all aware of. After that whole fiasco that went down, things were pretty calm. Alfredo and Anora were doing well reading the scriptures every day together and praying as a family and keeping every commitment that we threw at them, and things got better for them. Her parents were touched by the Spirit and agreed to allow the weddings and they became huge supporters of them getting married to keep the Commandments of God. Well this week we ran into a new and bigger problem- Alfredos Mom. She is determined to not allow the wedding unless her son participates in the African Traditions of Presentation of the Groom and Labolo. As we explained to her that the Traditions are keeping her son from keeping a commandment, she did not care. She says that if they decide to get married, that she will kick them out of her house (they are currently living in a side room of her house).  It got to the point where I asked her,  "Sister, are you going to condemn your son for trying to keep a commandment of God?"  And her response,  "Dang right.".
The conversation continued on like that for a while, and in the end we felt inspired to give her the best chance possible to change her mind. We put things very simple for her by explaining that False Traditions come from the Adversary and if she chooses to continue with her plan, that she will be supporting the Adversary and what he wants, and that she will be fighting directly against the Will of God. At that point she became so furious that she stormed off and refused to speak to us anymore... Alfredo and Anora backed us up, and they told us that we did not say anything wrong or anything that was not true, but at the end of the night Anora told us that they will probably postpone the wedding because of Alfredos Mom... I was so crushed. I had no idea what to say. They have fought for 3 years, and we have seen so many miracles these past 3 months to get them to this point, and now it may all go down the drain. It is really sad to see someone with such a strong testimony of the Gospel have their faith shaken by something like this. I'll let you guys know what happens this week next P-day.

But other than that we have a lot of people that are progressing really well. This last Sunday we had 22 investigators come to church including a new investigator that will be baptized on the 13th of May as well. His name is Albino. He was actually a reference of a recent convert that Elder Price and Elder Donker baptized just  a couple of weeks ago- Fernando. Fernando just showed up with him to church 2 weeks ago and we met with him a couple of times this week. He has progressed so fast. He is a really smart kid that loves and understands really well the Book of Mormon. He has a deep love for the Gospel and has a massive desire to learn more about and apply the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Briefly, here is a list of the names of those that will be baptized on the 13th of May, please keep them in your prayers. We need all the help we can get if they are all to be baptized on the 13th-

Joao and Cristina
Alfredo and Anora
Domingos
Sergio
Ivan, Mauro, and Dudu
Isabel, Admira, Sharia, and Catia
Ismael, Edilson, Sandramo, Ezequiel and Guilliermina
Cecilia
Albino
Amelia, Emilia and Yasilla

I love this work. I love these people. I know that God lives and that He is our Father.

Elder Rash



Walk along the beach with Elder Carlson

What a view with Elder Carlson

Elder Carlson with some cute kiddos

Elder Rash in his happy place!

Have NO IDEA what kind of fruit this is!

Doesn't look to appetizing

Ocean view

Love these boys!