9-26-2011

Hola Mis Amigos y Familia,

   So this week was fairly normal, we have transfers on Wednesday, and I thought I would end my time at the internet cafe without anything to tell you simply because President Avila doesn´t like to tell us about transfers till Monday night. However, Hna. Garcia just got off the phone with the offices, and I found out that I will be TRAINING.... YIKES! I really am so scared. I won’t have my companion to lean on for the language... it is all me. Oh no! Ok I can do this.... I have faith. I will be picking my companion up from the offices tomorrow at 10 am.  I am sure this week will be very exciting, and that I will have a lot to share next week.  I hope you all enjoy conference, and go into it with a question that you would like answered. I am so excited! Have a wonderful week.  I love you all! :)

                                      Chou, 

                                         Hermana Marlene Ricks

9-19-2011

Hola mis Amigos y Familia

So this week was crazy! We had a lesson with Matias (he is the son of a recent convert) and we were watching the Joseph Smith movie. I love watching this movie because I have never experienced it ending without the Spirit filling the room.  The day however was a first. Matias is such a great investigator, and Richardo (his Dad) is a great guy as well.  Richardo was baptized about nine months ago, and is really confused in his ideas of the church. This only confuses Matias more, and makes it difficult for him to make any progress. The lesson ended with my companion and I feeling very disappointed, and even sheding a few tears... This of course made both of the men go into freak out mode just because guys don´t know how to handle a girl when she cries. ha ha They both called us later that day to apologize, and we told them that it was fine, and that we only felt this way because we cared about them so much. It is moments like these, when your investigators don´t understand the importance of what you are teaching them that we are blessed with a little more understanding of the Saviors love for every single one of us.

I also had my first interview with President Avila. It went splendidly. I really am so grateful to have him as my mission President. He is such an inspired man that is always intuned with the Spirit. I feel very lucky to have his council for the remainder of my mission. He hinted that I might me training for this next transfer (starting next week) AWWWW I don´t know if I am ready for that, but I have faith that if the Lord feels like I am ready all will got well

After interviews my companion got very very sick, and was in bed for more than two days.  She has been having a lot of stomach problems, and we are thinking (mission nurse included) that she my have a parasite.... We hope not, but if worse come to worse we will be taking a trip back to the offices for the special medication.

Well, I don´t know if that sounds really exciting for all of you, but for me it was a roller coaster of events.  I hope you all have a wonderful week. I love you and will talk to you again very shortly.

                  Ciao,

                        Hermana Ricks

9-5-2011

Hola Mis Amigos y Familia,

  This week was really wonderful Hna. Garcia and I started working in an area where we were having a lot of success.  I could feel the Spirit leading us through the streets to the houses that would listen to our message.  One Evening we were talking with Hno. Celoni (one of the members that helps us out a lot) and he told us that those areas were really dangerous especially for a blonde haired blue eye missionary like myself.  I felt really dissappointed when he told us this because I truly felt the spirit leading us to this area, and I didn´t want to stop going back. We are planning on talking with our Bishop about it, and President Avila. Hopefully between the two of them we will get the green light, but if not the people in those areas will just have to wait till Elders are put in Maipu again.

   Yesterday was amazing. Hna. Garcia and I were just waiting for our investigators class to start when Hno. Percera came in and told us that he needed to speak with us.  Apparently we started talking with someone in the street as he was walking to church this person came into church with us and was talking with the Bishop. We went to wait outside of Bishops office so that we could introduce ourselves when he came out.  We saw what he looked like through the window, and our immediate though was this guy is a little weird, but he (Cristian) certainly proved us otherwise. Cristian was very respectly full as we showed him through the church and talked about the Book of Mormon. He asked a lot of great questions, and seemed really interested in our answers. I didn´t think that he would stay for Sacrament Meeting becauase he had just worked through the night, and was on his way home when Hno. Percera snagged him in the street, but again he surprised me.  He asked us questions about the meeting set up and the Sacrament when it was time and then listen intently to the testimonies. Hna. Garcia and I had spoken just a few weeks earlier so we didn´t want to take this time from the member, but with about five minutes left in the meeting Cristian leans over and asks us if me have testimonies, and why we don´t share them. We informed him that we most certainly did have testimonies, but that we share them everyday, and that we didn´t want to take this time from the member. He gave us a look basically saying.... RIGHT! We both immediately went to the front and told the members of the ward that we knew this was the Church of Jesus Christ and that he lives. After we sat back down Cristian leans over and tells us that our testimonies were beautiful and that he was planning on coming back this next week.  He truly is a miracle.  I hope that he continues to progress.

  Well that is about it for this week.  I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that the Lord is with you in all that you do.  I love you and will talk to you later.

                       Ciao,

                          Hermana Ricks