Because He Lives! I am a missionary :) 3/30/15

Okay so I have like no time left..sorry! This might be a lame email. Hopefully not.

 

So first off, who watched Women's Conference?! It was the BOMB! It was so good. I loved President Eyring's talk about how when we are baptized, we covenant to take upon the burden's of other people. I also loved the focus from everyone on the importance of families! Families are such a blessing. I'm so glad I have such a great family. If you missed it, it is available online!

 

Side Note: There is story going on at the Library and they are super loud. Reminds me of some of the crazy songs we would sing in Kindergarten right before I left... " Hello everyone! It's time to have some fun! *Clap Clap*

 

Anyways. WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE THIS WEEK! With questions prepared! I have never been so excited for it in my life!

 

Side Note: They are now hungry alligators and it's dinner time

 

Also, who's seen the video "Because He Lives?" It is SO AWESOME! And will make your day better, I promise. It came out for Easter just last Saturday, and it talks about the Ressurection of Jesus Christ, and because of that He lives right now! He knows each of us personally, and He is very aware of any circumstance we are in.

 

This week our P-Day is cut short at 2 because we are going to the temple on Friday! So it's gonna be crazy, but I'm so excited to go to the temple!!

Also, I get to go on exchanges tomorrow with one of the Hermana Training Leaders in VENTURA! I'm super excited!! :)

Love you all!

 

<3 Hermana Ricks

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqTRSVA1YA

 

 

 

That Sea Food though... 03/23/15

So all of last transfer nobody even mentions fish. Then they give me a Samoan companion and all of a sudden everyone wants to feed us fish! We have been fed fish three times in the last two weeks. Yes I ate it like a boss. Yes it still gives me the heeby-jeebies, and yes I still don't like it.

Today is Hermana Brown's birthday!! She just wants to hang out with our whole district all day, so we are going to go to Target and shop for a while, and then party at the church with the district! Selena and her friend Regina made a super cute poster sized card for her and made up a birthday dance for her. It was adorable.

So I can't think of anything super crazy that happened this week, but it was an awesome week! We are really trying to work with the members! If you want to do something for the missionaries, have them over for dinner and invite a friend. Or at least give them a referral! They will love you for forever. :) Also, hosting family home evenings are fantastic as well. We are going to have FHE with the bishop's family and Selena tonight!

I AM SO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you that don't know what this is, it is a broadcast that is for everyone! Not just members of our faith. Our prophet and apostles speak, and tell us things that will bless our lives if we listen. It is on the 4th and 5th of April! Watch it! Watch it with a question in mind - I promise it'll be answered. :) I don't think I've ever been so excited for conference in my life.

ALSO! We get to go to the temple on the month of our birthday, so Hermana Brown and I get to go on April 3rd to the temple because her birthday is today!!! BOO-YA! So excited. It'll basically be the best weekend ever.

LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week! :)

<3 Hermana Ricks 

Great Week! 03/16/15

This week was awesome!

Hermana Brown is so stinkin cute! She's really funny and loves the people here already. She is really organized, loves chips, sings like Beyonce, is from Samoa/Salt Lake, and is just super hilarious. I love being her companion!

This week Selena gave the opening prayer in church!! I was so proud! All she said was, "Bless las misioneras and bless my family" and it was the shortest sweetest prayer I've ever heard in a sacrament meeting! She used to be scared to even pray with us, and now she's a pro! She told us that she wants to go on a mission, so we've been trying to take her out with us a lot to teach. We have another investigator that is going to be baptized, and we were teaching him last night with Selena. I heard her say under her breath, "He should do it. It changed my life." I told her to tell that to him, and she was really nervous to say it, but she did and the spirit was so strong! I love her so much.

I can't think of anything that I could write that would be funny to you all...but this week was full of a lot of little funny things! They are the "you had to be there" kind of expereinces.

We found out that Hermana Huey is going to be one of our sister training leaders, so I'm super excited that I'll get to see her more! It was so sad saying goodbye to her. She was so great! But Hna Brown is pretty great too. :) I've just loved all my comps so far!

I love you all! I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ! I am so grateful to be here, it's the best thing EVERRRR!

The food some people eat... 03/09/15

And the news is...

I AM STAYING IN OXNARD! Hermana Huey is leaving though :'( She is going to be a Sister Training Leader in Ventura! She will be so amazing! My new companion is going to be Hermana Brown, I have not met her yet, but Hermana Jeronimo screamed from excitement when we heard because she was so excited. Im excited to meet and work with her, but sad to have Hna Huey leave!

Funny Story from the week:

So we went to dinner last week with a recent convert. She was standing behind her counter preparing the food and yelled to us asking if we like "Papitas" (little potatoes). Hna Huey told her that we LOVE papitas! She laughed, lifted up her leg, pointed to her foot and said, "No, paTitas!" (feet). Long story short, she fed us pig feet and it was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen! Basically a huge ball of fat with bones in it. Luckily for me, I was able to hide in my Pasole. But Hna Huey was a trooper and ate hers! She regretted it later though...

You know what else she regretted? Eating 4 super hot peppers yesterday at a members house! We had been dreading eating with this family all week. They fed the other Hermanas in the ward "rocky-mountain oysters" and another set of missionaries crickets! (Only because they think its funny, not because they aren't aware that those foods aren't normal...) Anyways, they ended up feeding us normal food and told us, "The first time you come, you have to eat a Chile. The second time you come, you get a surprise!" They said the record for peppers was kept by Elder Sorensen who ate 3, so Hermana Huey took it upon herself to eat 4! I thought she was going to die!! But it was hilarious...

We had a lot of awesome things happen in the ward! The other sisters had two investigators get baptized, and we have a lot of people full of lots of potential! I am excited to be here for another transfer and see how they do. :) Love you all!

BEST WEEK EVER 3/2/2015

THIS WAS THE BEST WEEK EVER!!!!!!! I don't know how much I told you about our investigator Selena (we are always typing so fast I can never remember what I have said...) but she was baptized on Saturday! We started teaching her near the first of the transfer. She is 19 and so adorable! She is really shy, but she got up and bore her testimony on Sunday and I wanted to cry because I am so proud of her. She was told in her blessing when she received the gift of the holy ghost that she would be able to find a worthy priesthood holder and be married in the temple. I am so excited for this day! Hna Huey and I sang at the baptism, and President and Sister Felix came, which we were not expecting! It was the greatest day ever.

This transfer has gone so fast!! I don't know if I'm going to be transferred or not, but I really hope not because I love this area so much!! We just found out that we actually can go drive to see the ocean from our area, so Ill try to send pictures of that next week. 

This ward is the best! They are so supportive. Just in case you are wondering how you can help the missionaries, have them over to your house for a lesson! Invite your friends over to your house along with the missionaries! This is the most effective thing ever. Seriously, it is so powerful to have lessons in memebers homes.

Besides that, I can't remember anything because I was so excited about the baptism. But thank you for everything! Love you all! :)

 

 

 

 

Busy Week! 2/23/2015

HELLO!!! Thank you SO MUCH! For that package!! That is the cutest apron I have ever seen...all the other Hermanas were jealous! DAD! That letter is the best thing you have ever given me...I try to read some of it every night, but I am only on page 9 I think! So far I have laughed historically, cried a little bit, and probably rolled my eyes sarcastically as well, but I can't quite remember. ;) Thank you so much. I will keep it for forever! Also, that caramel apple was so. good. My companion and I eat a little bit of it when the other Hermanas aren't around so that we don't have to share...haha :)

So this week we had zone conference! It was the greatest meeting in the world! It lasted all day, and we focused on the document the church came out with to celebrate the 2000th birthday of Jesus Christ. It is called "The Living Christ." It was such a powerful meeting! I don't think there was one missionary in the room that doubted the fact that Jesus is the Christ, our savior, and that he still lives today. I have never felt such a powerful witness of this truth before in my life. I am so grateful for that conference! I hope I never forget how strongly I felt about the actuality of His existence. I am so grateful for him, and for this incredible opportunity I have to come closer to him every single day. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.

On that note, I had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting this last Sunday, and I had about the worst attitude about it that I possibly could. But! I totally felt Heavenly Father helping me write it. I was really worried because it had to be in Spanish, and it wasn't a big deal at the CCM because if you forgot a word in your talk you could just say it in English. But this was the real deal, where people only understand Spanish! It ended up being fine, and I am so grateful that Heavenly Father helped me through it all, even though I was being a total brat about it...

Anyways, thanks for being the best family I could imagine! I love getting your letters and packages, you really are the best! Love you!!