Raleigh! I’m a Rando follower of your moms :) I appreciate your perspective, honesty and authenticity…
Thank you for sharing!! I admire your ability to fully commit to your mission and hold true to your own personal beliefs and convictions, not an easy place to be. Nuanced member here, still finding my place.
Goal this year: find Jesus in ALL the places, (mostly in the margins and among the misunderstood), love people, unlearn some things. Can’t wait to hear about the next half of your mission :)
It takes a lot of courage to remain steadfast and true to your own sacred, independent relationship with God and to abide by the dictates of your own conscience, no.matter.what (and in this case, no.matter.where). Thank you for your shining example. I love you.
Oh, Raleigh! This was JUST what I needed to see in my inbox tonight! Been thinking of you all day, EVERY day. 🩵 I love your heart. I love your deep thought process, I love you taking this opportunity AND making the sacrifice to be a missionary and learning life lessons that could have taken a lifetime to learn - if ever! After I get a little sleep and can sound somewhat coherent, I’ll answer your questions! Good questions, by the way;)
So good to read from you again. Seems like you are happy about your new responsibility even though it’s hard. (I always loved accounting in school. Numbers calm me..)
I will assume you asked those questions to actually get answers. Plus I think it might be good for myself to spell them out.
As a convert I would say the best missionaries in my life were the ones that truely became my friends. That saw me as a person no matter what religious decisions I was making. That loved me even if I didn’t move along the path their handbook suggested as fast or easily as they might have hoped. So I guess love. As always is the answer.
And the second one. It’s an up and down right now. With two little girls I realize that there are things I don’t believe and while I can ignore it I have no idea how to talk to my kids about it. I refuse to indoctrinate them. I refuse to tell them there is only one truth.
I keep thinking about the church as scaffolding. It’s helpful in many ways. Also ugly in many ways. But it’s only a tool to get the main building aka my personal relationship with Heavenly Parents to be breathtakingly beautiful.
So sometimes I wonder if the scaffolding needs to come off. Or if it won’t in this life.
Right now and when talking to my three year old I focuse on love and kindness and grace. Can’t go wrong with that I think. The rest will come
Love you! Love this! So many people reach out to me from your letters. This one brought so many to reflect and come closer to God and feeling love. The Spirit is strong in you brother!
Love you so so much. So proud of you. You inspire me and so many. Thank you for being you and exemplifying goodness.
One of my favorite scriptures:
“He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
Acts 10:38
This is how I see you brother.
Keep rockin’ it!
The difference you are making is deeper and wider than you will ever realize.
Raleigh your awesome. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Dry Pre is pretty hard core. 😂 The people of Angola are blessed to feel the love you have for them.
•What makes a good missionary? Someone with a heart like yours. No question.
•Grateful you’re seeing miracles. This is everything. Write them down. It’s been my experience that your vision here will continue to expand–along with your heart. Such a gift this will always be. I’ve discovered that Einstein was right, “ There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.'” For me, a life of miracles is the only way.
•Also grateful to see how you’re becoming more and more open to ambiguities. Finding and building faith in the face of ambiguity is a miraculous gift that only a very few will develop in this life. To me, this is another blessing coming through to you from dedication to sacrificing your time and heart–and easing up on once ‘deeply held’ opinions. Huge. Again, most will never break through here. You are an inspiration. Purely so.
You Rock My Friend! How are You So Wise at Such a Tender Age?! I remember my Mission and how we had to live w Members & not always knowing if anyone wanted to have us. It gave a whole new meaning to "the foxes have holes & the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head" Matthew 8:20 So Many Important Lessons to learn & to perhaps feel he may have felt. The Isolation and Loneliness would have been one of them. But I am Proud, Proud Auntie of Who You Are Becoming & The Gospel of Christ is Simple...It Is Love ❤️ You've got It! & Hard Work is Love Personified! Love You Raleigh! Sending So Much Love & All My Aloha! 🥰😇🤗😁☺️😗😘 Bev
I was thinking about you yesterday while grilling some meats so seeing your letter in my inbox today was such a rad treat! I’m just rooting for you so much Raleigh. I’m stoked that you’re continuing to discover the beauty in all things and the beautiful interconnectedness of all the things and peoples. It’s a wild and beautiful world we get to be part of. Love you bro!
Raleigh! I’m a Rando follower of your moms :) I appreciate your perspective, honesty and authenticity…
Thank you for sharing!! I admire your ability to fully commit to your mission and hold true to your own personal beliefs and convictions, not an easy place to be. Nuanced member here, still finding my place.
Goal this year: find Jesus in ALL the places, (mostly in the margins and among the misunderstood), love people, unlearn some things. Can’t wait to hear about the next half of your mission :)
Ralllllleeeeiiiiiighhhhhhh
I’m proud of you for so many reasons, pal.
It takes a lot of courage to remain steadfast and true to your own sacred, independent relationship with God and to abide by the dictates of your own conscience, no.matter.what (and in this case, no.matter.where). Thank you for your shining example. I love you.
Raleigh! Love this for you dude! Glad you are experiencing the big, wonderful, weird, cornucopia that adventure and life are made of!
Oh, Raleigh! This was JUST what I needed to see in my inbox tonight! Been thinking of you all day, EVERY day. 🩵 I love your heart. I love your deep thought process, I love you taking this opportunity AND making the sacrifice to be a missionary and learning life lessons that could have taken a lifetime to learn - if ever! After I get a little sleep and can sound somewhat coherent, I’ll answer your questions! Good questions, by the way;)
I LOVE YOU! I’m always with you in spirit.
Love, Grandma 👵🏻 ♥️🥰
So good to read from you again. Seems like you are happy about your new responsibility even though it’s hard. (I always loved accounting in school. Numbers calm me..)
I will assume you asked those questions to actually get answers. Plus I think it might be good for myself to spell them out.
As a convert I would say the best missionaries in my life were the ones that truely became my friends. That saw me as a person no matter what religious decisions I was making. That loved me even if I didn’t move along the path their handbook suggested as fast or easily as they might have hoped. So I guess love. As always is the answer.
And the second one. It’s an up and down right now. With two little girls I realize that there are things I don’t believe and while I can ignore it I have no idea how to talk to my kids about it. I refuse to indoctrinate them. I refuse to tell them there is only one truth.
I keep thinking about the church as scaffolding. It’s helpful in many ways. Also ugly in many ways. But it’s only a tool to get the main building aka my personal relationship with Heavenly Parents to be breathtakingly beautiful.
So sometimes I wonder if the scaffolding needs to come off. Or if it won’t in this life.
Right now and when talking to my three year old I focuse on love and kindness and grace. Can’t go wrong with that I think. The rest will come
Love you! Love this! So many people reach out to me from your letters. This one brought so many to reflect and come closer to God and feeling love. The Spirit is strong in you brother!
Love you so so much. So proud of you. You inspire me and so many. Thank you for being you and exemplifying goodness.
One of my favorite scriptures:
“He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him."
Acts 10:38
This is how I see you brother.
Keep rockin’ it!
The difference you are making is deeper and wider than you will ever realize.
Keep going.
Love you!
Thanks for sharing—Keep up the great work Elder Raleigh 🫡 ♥️
Raleigh your awesome. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, feelings and experiences. Dry Pre is pretty hard core. 😂 The people of Angola are blessed to feel the love you have for them.
•What makes a good missionary? Someone with a heart like yours. No question.
•Grateful you’re seeing miracles. This is everything. Write them down. It’s been my experience that your vision here will continue to expand–along with your heart. Such a gift this will always be. I’ve discovered that Einstein was right, “ There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.'” For me, a life of miracles is the only way.
•Also grateful to see how you’re becoming more and more open to ambiguities. Finding and building faith in the face of ambiguity is a miraculous gift that only a very few will develop in this life. To me, this is another blessing coming through to you from dedication to sacrificing your time and heart–and easing up on once ‘deeply held’ opinions. Huge. Again, most will never break through here. You are an inspiration. Purely so.
Couldn’t be more proud. I love you. -Grammie
You Rock My Friend! How are You So Wise at Such a Tender Age?! I remember my Mission and how we had to live w Members & not always knowing if anyone wanted to have us. It gave a whole new meaning to "the foxes have holes & the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head" Matthew 8:20 So Many Important Lessons to learn & to perhaps feel he may have felt. The Isolation and Loneliness would have been one of them. But I am Proud, Proud Auntie of Who You Are Becoming & The Gospel of Christ is Simple...It Is Love ❤️ You've got It! & Hard Work is Love Personified! Love You Raleigh! Sending So Much Love & All My Aloha! 🥰😇🤗😁☺️😗😘 Bev
I was thinking about you yesterday while grilling some meats so seeing your letter in my inbox today was such a rad treat! I’m just rooting for you so much Raleigh. I’m stoked that you’re continuing to discover the beauty in all things and the beautiful interconnectedness of all the things and peoples. It’s a wild and beautiful world we get to be part of. Love you bro!