7-25-2011

Hola Mis Amigos y Familia!

   This week was great! Nothings Spectacular occured, but the weather was amazing. It is so much more fun working in a warmer climate.... I hope I don´t regret those words in a few months. ha ha

   Lets see the week was fairly normal and relaxed... However, the cutest things happened yesterday.  Jonas (the little boy the got baptized in the end of May... He is ten years old) is so amazing.  He wants to serve a mission, and get married in the temple one day.  Anyway, yesterday he told Hermana Garcia and I that he had a crush on one of the girls in the ward (the Bishop´s daughter... She is 12).  We told him that if he wanted to get married in the temple that right now he just needed to have amigas, and then after his mission he could start looking for a girlfriend.  I wish you all could have seen the sad look on his face as he said, ¨JUST amigas?... ha ha it was so adorable.

   I seriously am so grateful to be a member of this church. Something that I have really grown to love and appreciate is the love that we feel with in our ward families.  It is so special to me we as a new member of the ward immediately feels welcome, and starts to build life long relationships with the other members.  How blessed we all are to always have a supportive family no matter where we are in the world, or what trials we are facing they will always be there. 

  Well my dear loved ones back home.  I miss you all and hope you have a wonderful week.  I will talk to you all a little later.  LOVES

                        Chou,

                            Hermana Ricks

7-11-2011

Hola!
   I hope you all had an amazing week!  This week was incredible simply because the weather was wonderful.  One day I didn´t have to wear my coat. It was amazing. I am pretty sure it is the calm before the storm though. We are supposed to be getting snow this week, so we will see how that goes. We started the new transfer, and my comp hit the ground running.  We were able to get a lot of new investigators, and had a lot of success with the current ones that we have. We have two baptisms planned for this Saturday and I am so excited.  It is absolutely amazing to see the change that happens when someone realizes that this is the true church of Jesus Christ. I feel so truly blessed to be out here serving my Father. As much as I am suppose to be blessing the lives of those I am helping to teach, I feel lots of the time that I am getting the bigger pay off.
  This week I met President Avila (new mission President) I was so nervous.... and for absolutely nothing. He is wonderful. During a zone conference he and his family (wife, two daughters, and a son) shared their testimonies. With the change of mission presidents I have gained a stronger testimony of the Lords hand in the all things.  While none of us always like change we need to understand that there is time and season for everything. When the Lord decides to call someone to a calling whether it be Mission President, Bishop, or Primary teacher, it is because he knows that you can do it, and that you are meant to help the lives of others in this area.
   I also found out this week that the Bishop of Trapiche (my old ward) died in the street from a heart attack.  I couldn´t believe this.  He was so young and has three very young sons.  I have been praying for his family all week, and ask that you do the same. Thank you all for you love and support.  I love you all and hope that all is going well for you.  I will talk to you next week.
                         Chou,
                               Hermana Ricks

7-4-2011

7-4-2011

 Hola Mis Amigos,
   I really can´t believe that another week has come and gone... it is crazy to me how quickly the sneak up. At the begging of this week the weather was better, still cold, but warmer than before.  I feel like it was the calm before the storm because the last two days have been 5 below zero.  Our pipes are frozen so nothing in our apartment works... we have needed to go to the church to cook/ use the bathroom. ha ha the mission is definitely an adventure.
   Nothing has really been different with our investigators. We are planning at least two baptisms for this month, and hopefully more if a marriage goes through.  The work it great, but I would be lying if I didn´t say that I was anxiously waiting for the summer to arrive... two more months. I can do it!
   Transfers are again this week.  I really don´t feel like 6 weeks is long enough with one companion.  You finally get costumed to one another and then they change you.  Luckily our Zone Leaders called us this morning and told us that we had another transfer together. YAY! I love Hermana Garcia and am looking forward to the next 6 weeks.  I have not heard anything about the new President yet, but I am sure over the next week we will have a better idea of what is going on.
   Well I love you all. I hope you all enjoy the 4th of July and realize what a blessing it is to be living in our wonderful country. I love you and will talk to you next week.
                    Chou,
                      Hermana Ricks