Karli Riddle Meets Louisiana!!!

rainbows and butterflies!!!

2010-02-27T15:22:00.000-08:00

good news... there is a hairdresser in our ward here in gonzales that loves to do the missionaries hair for them... so he colored my hair this morning. haha. his name is brother barber. hes pretty tight. ah it feels so nice to have my hair highlighted again :) and he did a little trim and some face framing. it looks good!... that was exciting. the new area is alright. i told pops all about it. i miss metairie a LOT... but im here for a reason. it is weird for me to be out of the city though. im sorry about all the snow. its definitely not snowing here! it has been pretty warm this week. ive been in tshirts again, too hot for sleeves!... i got a tan line from sitting outside in someones back yard during a lesson the other day. a tan line in january, who woulda thunk?...

(i have know idea why this is one is called rainbows and butterflies, bean is silly....)

Current Address

2010-02-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

Write to Karli.. Ps. her b-day is march 8th.. wish her a good one!

Sister Karli Riddle
1909 Airline hwy #214
Gonzales, LA 70707

A threesome!!! ha ha

2010-02-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

so the new and exciting stuff around here... i am now in a threesome. sister charland from temple square joined our companionship last wednesday. she is super fun, from quebec, canada. her first language is french, but her english is perfect. she doesnt even have an accent. she and i are going to have lots of fun together. its neat to hear what the mission is like in temple square compared to here. its funny how some things there are so lax compared to here, and how things here are lax compared to there!. really, its just clothing that we are more relaxed about. everything else they have it easier!... they can listen to a WHOLE lot more music than we can. on preparation days they get to do crazy things like go to a Jazz game, watch Disney movies, etc. and... check this... they dont have to wear nylons during the summer! what the heck?!? we are in 100% humidity out here and still have to wear our nylons year round!.. blah!... it doesnt get THAT hot in utah!... soooo... im determined to convince sister woods to let us be nylon free this summer!... wish me luck ;)... sister charland is 22... 23 in november. its funny cause im almost a year into my mission now, getting to be one of the "oldest" sisters in the mission... yet im still the baby in real age. there is only one sister who came out about 6 months after me that is a month or two younger than i am

Finally an update---Butternut!!

2009-08-26T11:07:00.001-07:00

hey pops!... time does fly awfully fast! i feel like im gonna be home before i know it!. can you believe im almost 6 months in already?! CRAZY!!!!!!.... the work is going well.... not great, but not terrible... we are working ridiculously hard... but we can only do so much, and then agency on the behalf of our investigators steps in and it is no longer up to us. but we are doing our very best to be perfectly obedient and act on all promptings we have, and to always be working hard, so hopefully the blessings will start to flow and we will see a slew of baptisms here shortly ;)... schulz and i are still getting along really well. we have a lot of fun together, and we are both dedicated, that has been such a blessing!... oh... a couple of stories!... remember christi, the 18 year old girl in denham that got baptized the week i got transferred?... well i was at new missionary training with schulz at the mission home in baton rouge, and one of the other trainers is the new district leader there in denham springs... and he was like "arent you one of the missionaries that found christi" and i said "YES!"... then he told me that theresa... christis mom who was a terrible chain smoker, got baptized on the saturday previous! :D... it made me soooooooooooooo happy! it was incredible! we started teaching her a tiny bit while i was there, and she came to church a few times with christi when i was still in denham, but i was just amazed that she was able to quit smoking to get baptized. it was awesome... and now they are teaching christi's dad, who is an alcoholic... hopefully he will change too :D... pretty cool huh? it made me feel pretty good about myself... and less of a failure as a missionary since i havent seen too many baptisms yet. i just hope her dad will convert as well, and that they will all be sealed together in one short year :D... oh, and another funny story before i forget.. it happened a couple weeks ago, but i forgot to tell you earlier. schulz and i were in the car coming home from a coordination meeting, and at the meeting one of the leaders said something about irritating people and wanting to kick them in the shins... and we were laughing about it,and schulz was like "kick em in the shins!" and i said "i prefer a swift kick in the pants!... more options that way" and then a few seconds later we drove past a street sign that said "Butternut" and i blurted it out, not making the connection between my previous statement, and schulz started laughing hysterically. haha. it was pretty funny cause i didnt mean to do it at all. so now its a little joke of ours, and every time we drive past that street we laugh... haha... oh, and i gave a talk in church yesterday. the first counselor called us in the morning and asked us to speak. he asked me to speak on my personal conversion story. it was a hoot :P... im almost out of time though, so i had better get going. oh, i almost forgot... YES i got your fantastic package :D... it was great. and i have been giving the tootsie pops to little kids. they like it :)... and ive eaten a bunch myself :S... haha. thanks for the package though pops. it was fun to get one from you :)... i really do appreciate all the little things you and mom have always done for me. i have great parents :D... tieacie, our favorite investigator, said "your parents really love you, huh?" i said they sure do!... you and mom are always in my prayers! especially that mom gets a good job with benefits so you can start looking for one that makes you happier. hang in there. we can only go up from here. i love you dad! and for the masses that will get this email... i love you all too!... have a great week,and remember how blessed we are!
love,
sister riddle

Louisiana update- Karli is now serving pretty close to the big city.. aka New Orleans...

2009-07-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

aaaah i am running out of time!!! the computer is gonna kick me off soon! haha... well, the 4th was kinda interesting. we went contacting in a park in our area in the morning, and there were these hispanic women setting stuff up at one of the pavilions, so we went over and talked to one of them for a while, her name was Linda and super nice, and she insisted that we come back at 4 for her daughters birthday party and food. so... being missionaries, who dont turn down an offer for good homemade spanish food and the opportunity to meet and talk to LOTS of people, we went back. haha. it was pretty cool. most of the people spoke spanish, but some of them spoke english and it was still fun. then we went to a CRAZY tongan part member family's house before we had to be in at 7. we obviously did lots of tracting in the heat between,but those were the highlights. when we came in my comp took a nap and i CLEANED :D... aahhh it was so nice. im slowly turning into mom. then she woke up and we baked banana bread, well my comp did while i kept cleaning... and then we put on silly face masques and other goofy facial crap that we found in the apartment haha. oh the things you find in a missionary apartment. oh, and the pictures of the heinous dresses are clothes that we found in the closet here today. HHAHA. they were so gross i HAD to put them on and take pictures, so you could see that i have caved and given in to being a frumpy sister :P... haha... sounds like stadium of fire was lots of fuN!... a little more exciting than my 4th :P... as for your first greenie that answered the mission presidents question a little too comically for his comfort... i think its hilarious! and he sure does sound like one of a kind! haha. the elders in my area right now are kinda uptight and not very much fun. i miss my old zone!... anywho... august 11th wahoo! then off to a real office. :D.. i bet youre excited! alright. well i really need to go! i am soo out of time now! but... i will attach some pictures as usual! i love you and miss you all very very much. sorry this email isnt longer! read moms for more info... and every time you think you are hot up there in utah.. think of me in the dirty south sweating my face off as i tract in highly catholic neighborhoods. haha. have a great week and dont forget how lucky we are to know the truth! :D oh, and as usual.. please make sure this gets to the troops! i love you dad!
pic 1- creepy voodoo thing in front of someones house
pic 2- my nasty sweaty back while tracting that was a perfect heart shape with backpack straps. disgusting, but i couldnt help myself
pic3- me and new comp on 4th being nerds

letter to dad... general progress report

2009-06-09T19:42:00.000-07:00

hahahahahahahhahah.... oh man, every time i read your emails i start busting up in the middle of the library, and im sure people think im crazy... hahaha... its great :)... i especially enjoyed the comment about the colonoscopy and mom asking the doctor to check to see if your head was up there :)... im glad to hear that it was not. im sorry you had to go through that... and i know EXACTLY how you felt with the awful prep time... i had one last summer remember?... i remember being so happy once the laxatives finally kicked in because my stomach had been SOOOO full from the constant consumption of laxative laden liquids that i thought i looked pregnant and thought i was going to burst... oh, it was awful... so how did it turn out?... squeaky clean?!.... anyway... things are going alright here. not great, but not terrible. the duplichens didnt get baptize on saturday like they were supposed to. sandra hasnt given up smoking yet, and amy has spent the last 2 weeks in the hospital with pregnancy complications. but she finally had a C-section, and now they are back home. we just need to have a really spiritual lesson with them and recommit them for the 13th or 20th. that is what we are hoping for. its so disappointing when things fall through. i never thought that seeing someone not related to me not get baptized like they were supposed to could break my heart so bad. i know that the duplichens know that the gospel is true and that they have such a huge desire to change. it kills me to see them dodging their own salvation. aaaah... being a missionary is not for the faint of heart. which basically means it kills me sometimes. haha. yeah, we have found quite a bit of new investigators actually... we are teaching a LOT of people right now... they just stink at keeping commitments. but, we are working on it. i will start telling you all about them once they actually start keeping those commitments and progressing :P... no need to get your hopes up. just pray for the people in this area. we need all the help we can get... im not really sure if it just hasnt gotten that humid yet... or if im just slowly getting used to it as it gets more humid?.... i think im just getting really used to it. but it is definitely hot and sticky most of the time. its pretty much in the 90s from here on out... oh yeah june first was the start of hurricane season... tell mom she can start worrrying now. it lasts til november 1st. haha. 3 more days and it is my 3 month mark! crazy huh?! thats a 6th of my mission already gone! it scares me how fast it goes by!!! im afraid im going to be getting on that plane to go home and feel like i still have so much to do out here. it is nuts. im glad you enjoyed the pictures. and i will try to get some pictures of our house, city, and church to you next week :)... hows granners liking her little visit?.... im surprised she actually got on the plane!!!... thats too bad she is losing her memory so fast :(... she will still remember me when i get home right?! :'(... i miss granners, and would be devestated if i didnt really get to say goodbye to her before her mind is gone completely. tell her hi for me and give her a hug for me too please. one month left at the airport! wahoo!!! which office will you be in after that?! orem???... well pops... i am about out of time... but thanks for taking time to email me. i know you are oober busy and have been working a LOT since we have moved to utah... but it makes me reallly happy to hear from you, and your humor brightens my day. i know i write mom a real letter every week, but i hope you know that i love you too, even if mom is the one getting the letters. she cant make it through the week without a letter from me like you can ;)... really, you should be thanking me for making sure i write her every week. haha. jk. alright i really gotta go! i love you dad! have a great week! and remember how lucky we are to have truth restored!!!!!! :D

2009-06-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

To all those, if anyone reads this, Karli sent a few pictures with little descriptions. Sorry, i'm not that dedicated to include them.. use your imagination.. She is doing well.. And she always says to tell everyone hi.

pictures received june 2009

2009-06-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

tap dance on my forehead....

2009-05-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is just an entertaining story from bean's letter this week...enjoy.. i enjoy it more i think because i've seen years of her dramatic reactions when we show her a little, harmless earth worm.. what i still am wondering, is just how loud her little "ah" was...

yo POPS~!... and rest of the familia...
first of all... dad...where was your email this week?!... i could have used a good laugh. and justin.... no snide response to my broken nose? haha... anyway... heres another good story for you... i hope you get some entertainment out of these, because i find it funny....
so the other morning... i think it was wednesday... i woke up at 5:30, an hour before my alarm, to a tickling feeling on my forehead. i brushed at it in my sleep and didnt feel anything. i figured it was just my hair tickling me. but it kept happening, and again, nothing. so i lay in bed for another ten minutes, with my forehead itching... and finally get up because i have to pee. i come back to bed and feel the tickling again... then i hear some rustling coming from behind me... i figure i am just paranoid by this point and letting my mind play tricks on me... and i try to fall back asleep... a few minutes later i hear some DEFINITE rustling in the stack of letters on the little shelf of my headboard. i dont wanna wake my comp up so i grab our cell phone and shine the light of it in my shelf to see a GIHUGOUS cockroach staring up at me!!!!! i let out a little "ah!" and my comp wakes up... i go to turn on the light and the thing is already crawling all over my pillow!!! sick. so i grab a cup from the kitchen, catch it, and throw it outside. needless to say i have a little more trouble falling asleep at nights now. it was so gross... but kinda funny too. ugh... blah!... anyway... the mission is awesome.

"How i broke my nose" by Sister Karli Michele Riddle

2009-04-29T16:05:00.000-07:00

"HOW I BROKE MY NOSE"
One hot, humid, sticky day my companion and I went tracting the in the place lovingly referred to as the Ghetto, where not a single white soul lives. As we approached a shabby looking trailer with a warm cheerful "WELCOME" sign so jubilantly displayed on the door, we knocked. A big black man came to the door, and we began to ramble off our little blurb. He told us how he was a devout baptist and began to tell us all of the reasons why we were wrong and an abomination to God. He started Bible bashing on the Book of Mormon and our religion, and told us to admit that it was wrong and that we were wrong. I told him that I KNEW that my beliefs were right and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was Christ's true church on the earth today, and that i would NOT deny the faith. Upon doing so he punched me square in the face, breaking my nose. As blood poured everywere, I did not even shed a tear. But told him that one day, he too would know the truth.
okay, so that was a HUGE lie................. but it sounds a lot cooler than "i ran into a cinderblock wall at the church on pday." yup, true story. so mom, sorry i didnt get a hand written letter to you last week. i was too busy icing all pday.... so here's how it happened... we get to the church last monday for pday and there are a bunch of people there cleaning all the carpets and tile and everything. so we cant be in the gym til it dries. so until then we are all in the relief society room, me and my comp, and two sets of elders. i have to pee, and the door to font is open, along with the next door into the bathroom. so i just go through there. but, i have to close the one door behind me cause there are elders in the RS room. so i close the door, go pee, wash my hands, and try to go back out the same door. but, it locked itself when i closed it cause its the one that leads into the font. so i go out of the other end of the bathroom, opposite of from where i came in. i fail to remember that there is a small mothers room attached to the end of the bathroom. sooooo.... i step out of the one door and think to myself "why is the hall so dark?!".. cause it was like pitch black... and it turn what i think is the corner to walk down the hall back to the RS room and smack into something with a loud crack proceeding from my nose. i am completely confused at what had just happened and FINALLY realize that i was in the mothers room (which is still pitch black) and that i had just broken my nose on the cynderblock wall. fabulous. so i start laughing to myself cause i feel retarded (excuse my french, kara) and find the light switch. i then go into the bathroom to get tissue paper because my nose is bleeding. i look in the mirror and it is already starting to bruise. i decide i should probably go tell my comp, and walk down the hall to the RS and between a lot of laughter and tissue muffled attempts, i finally get it out that i think i just broke my nose. haha. i felt so dumb. anyway.... it healed really well, and just slants a TINY bit to the right now. :)... i got 21 years of my life without breaking a bone, and fail to make it through my first transfer of the mission. i am a rare talent. anyway, i am out of time yet again family. i love you all and miss you dearly. i realize more and more every day just how blessed i am to have you all in my life. my family has never meant so much to me. i keep every single one of you in my prayers every night, and hope that the Lord has been watching you all. even the little one in the oven, i pray for that special spirit every night as well :)... and i know the Lord will bless it to know that i am its favorite aunty as soon as it gets its first breath of air ;)... hahahaha. always remember how much the Lord has blessed us, every single one of us. He has never forsaken us, and never will as long as we remember Him. Go to the temple together often. all of you, as a whole family, even do baptisms with Justin, it is there that we realize that the celestial is real and that our family really is eternal. with all my love...
sister beanie
Jacob 2:18 and 19

Observations from louisiana!!!

2009-04-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

oh the things i have learned and noticed about the dirty south:
1) its perfectly acceptable to have a big, beautiful home in the upperclass areas and be out on your riding lawnmower cutting your grass shirtless, in shorts a little too short, sporting white rainboots, and wearing a silver chain around your neck. as my companion put it: "you can take the boy out of the country, but you cant take the country out of the boy"... yeah... that was a members house too :S... the wife was the member though, not the husband...
2) they start riding quads before they can walk. and everyone rides without helmets or shoes... and all over the rodes. they are everywhere. in one neighborhood i witness one little 3 or 4 year old boy riding his quad, while another little 3 or 4 year old boy, also bare foot ran up behind the quad and jumped on it as it was moving. yeah. they are crazy.
3) if you stick a fridge out of the side of the road that says "runs great, smells funny...free" someone WILL pick it up. (you will be getting a picture of that sometime)
4) the average household has 5 dogs. all of which are more stupid and annoying than barney and emma. yup, its that bad.
5) apparently they dont believe in getting animals fixed cause everyone has a pet thats pregnant...sick
6) they have snoballs instead of snowcones here... which is pretty much vanilla ice cream coated with shaved ice with the syrup on top... freaking delicious. i highly suggest opening up a stand in utah :)...
7) there are no hot dogs, hamburgers, or chips present at a bbq
8) any sort of subdivision is where "them rich folk" live
9) little kids play in sewage far too often
10) giving a dog a bath consists of throwing it on the porch and spraying it down with a hose... sick :S
11) i never hated dogs until i came on a mission
12) LA is the most illiterate state... fact.
13) LA also has the highest cancer rate. maybe because they all smoke 3 packs a day and spend hours upon end in the sun... maybe?
14) there is more road kill than i have ever seen in my life here
15) when someone says "sure you can come back another day" it really means "sure you can come back, and when you do i will pretend like im not here"
16) they talk funny
17) i, apparently talk "like a yankee"
18) no one knows where oregon is... and its really funny cause the ones that do wont say anything to my companion when she says shes from idaho, but as soon as i say im from oregon they go "oh my, you sure are a long ways from home arent ya?!"... even though oregon and idaho are right next to each other. haha.
19) everyone lives within a mile of 20 relatives.
20) i fear that half of the population is inbred :S... haha jk. kinda.
21) people actually put "private property...stay out" around their trailer. really?... necessary?!...
22) they also have their trailers protected with alarm systems
23) people will actually pay to have their trailer moved to a "better location"... "that trailer park across the riva is real nice..." hahah. jkjk. oh, i love the people here.
24) i have been humbled A LOT
25) we live in a big beautiful home, even though sometimes we dont think so because of what we left in oregon, but it really is SOOOO nice and big, and the Lord has really provided for us.
26)We are so lucky to be well educated. and able to read :P
27) i am so much more grateful for the knowledge of the true gospel of Jesus Christ
28) i think they missed the memo on birth control, and 16 is a totally acceptable age to be knocked up. (haha. i just couldnt end on a spiritual note :P)

reverse update!!

2009-04-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is still a little backwards on the pictures and stuff. Bean is doing well, she is in Louisiana now. I haven't received an email since week 2, but i have received a couple of letters and a card.. and she's doing fine. The mtc was rough for her, and it sounded like she would have liked to jump ship on some days. well this is boring, hopefully the next email is one that i can post.

3/17/09- Hello from prison..

2009-03-20T19:33:00.000-07:00

i'm trying to figure out how to post a long email from karli... i might end up having to do this in multiple posts...so when you guys dropped me off at the mtc and we were in that big room with all the newbies, there was one sister that i looked at and was like "wow, typical sister missionary".... yeah... she's in my district. but, i deserved it, and it turns out shes actually really fun and loving. my campanion is sister thomas...another girl that i would have classified as a typical sister. the first few days i wondered how i was ever going to "love my companion" like i am supposed to, because we are SOOOO different... its a lot like me and kara... except she is really quiet and soft spoken, so not like the bear. anyway... on saturday we finally had a little testimony sharing experience thing in our district where we talked about how the gospel had helped us in our lives... basically it was soooo awesome and our whole district bonded so much from it and we learned so much about each other and better understood where everyone came from and why they are they way they are... sooo long story short, our whole district is practically best friends now and i love our group!... some do still get on my nerves sometimes, but like i said, they are all VERY different than me. oh... and that same sister that i saw when you dropped me off and thought typical sister... i guess she saw me too during that meeting and was like "oh great" cause she apparently is terrified by women with blonde hair? haha………well i am almost out of time so i should wrap this up... but i hope you all know that i love you very much. i dont miss you terribly yet because i dont get homesick very easily but im sure after another week or two i will be dying for a hug from my mommy :)... but dont get me wrong, i do miss you, its just not killing me yet. i always miss my family when i am away. thanks for being such amazing parents. if it werent for the way you raised me i wouldnt be able to be on a mission right now, and i am so grateful to have parents that have been strong in the church, and especially for a dad that has always honored his priesthood. it really does bless our family so much, and i love knowing that our family is eternal. i had a really great experience teaching the first lesson the other day... oh, it was awesome, and the spirit was so strong as i recited the first vision in joseph smiths word. and of course, feeling the spirit that strong made me cry. haha. and i guess the old man we were teaching said that he envies my future husband after we left the room. ahhahahaahahah. they record them and some elders in our district reviewed it later that night and told me. so funny. anyway.... oh! and in one of our large group meetings the other day an elder tapped my shoulder and said he was bored and handed me a picture that he drew of the back of me as i sat there in the meeting and at the top it had his mission email address on it. i was like wow, really elder?!.. pathetic. i think that was the mtc form of giving someone your numbER? anyway, it was ridiculous. but hilarious. alright. i gotta go for real now!!!!!!! but i love you all, and am so grateful that you are my family, now and forever :)... and dont forget lots and lots of letters and little packages! i want NO excuses... you live 15 minutes away with free delivery!!!! so mom... get baking some cookies woman!!!!!! ;)... jk... i love you mommy! but i really would love some cookies! to share with my district :) i will send you pictures as soon as i can! and you will be getting real letters any day now!

Write to Bean!!!!

2009-03-20T18:43:00.000-07:00

So.. This is a little in reverse order, but that's ok with me.. i will post pics from karli's farewell and departure soon, my camera broke, so i need jake to send them to me. I missed her departure, but her farewell went really well. Thankfully our parents raised us to understand and appreciate growing up and moving on and out, so she is doing just fine so far. I put in parts of her letter, some things i think are meant for the eyes of the family.. sorry.. and i will put more letters on as they come.. I know Karli really appreciates everyones support, and hopes you will continue sending it her way. Her dear elder thing is dearelder.com #206.. while she is in the MTC... Her address, after april 1st, is:

Sister Karli Michele Riddle

Louisiana, Baton Rouge Mission

12025 Justice Ave.

Baton Rouge, LA 70816

Bye bye Beanie!

2009-03-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone, I welcome you to a blog that I will be keeping for Karli while she is gone. You can check in here every now and then to read her letters and see pictures etc. I hope that through this blog we can all share a little in her experience to come. And to Karli, I love you Bean. Go serve the Lord and the people of Louisiana. Work hard! and remember to write. I will miss you, you are one of my greatest allies and a best friend. I love you bean. Good luck, and remember that when you feel alone out there, your Father in Heaven is waiting to hear from you.