Last Week of the Change

My Dear Family,

I cannot believe how good it sounds that you all are! I am so excited and proud to be a Ricks and I am so excited and motivated to see all the success and blessings that we are recieving as a family! I am always asked by investigators or members, what is it that we do to be such a happy, strong, and loving family and it is always such a blessing to explain to them about my 7 best friends... 8 with Davis! I love to take a small moment during the Sacrament to think about each one of you and of the fondest memories we have together! I use these memories and strong feelings I have to motivate me to give a little more, work a little harder and search a little deeper!

This week has served to be a week of trials and learning. Elder Gonzalez and I have really been humbled and we have committed ourselves to work harder, and improve a few things. I am happy and proud to say that we are obediant missionaries, but there is always room to improve. We have set daily and weekly goals and written them down and taped them on our wall. I learned from my Dad, that a goal isn´t a goal until it is written and detailed, and put in a place were we can see it daily. We have few lessons this week, but the lessons we had were so awesome. I´d like to share an experience from one of them. It served to remind me, that God exists, and loves us.

We are teaching a little old lady named Angela. She is like 60-65 years old and lives with her daughter Yenni. She is a widow and has studied about many churces. Her sister was baptized in our church, and then shortly after passed away. For the longest time, Angela has had problems with praying. We leave with our investigators, the commitment to pray and ask God, if the Book of Mormon is true and if Joseph Smith is a prophet. She now has about three weeks in teaching and everytime we ask her how her prayer went, she says that she hasn´t felt anything. Now we as missionaries know that that is for one of two things... She either 1) doesn´t want to recieve an answer, or 2) doesn´t know how to recognize the spirit. My companion and I, one morning in a companionship study, prepared a plan for her. A lesson fit right to her needs. We searched the scriptures and made lesson plan outlines and the revelation came down as if it were dew from heaven. We put the plan in action and found that one of the things wrong was her form of praying. She had very different ideas of the how we should prayer, and everso gently and being led by the spirit, we helped her understand how we must pray and the importance of doing it right. (3Nephi 18:19-20)

At the end of a very spiritual lesson, we invited her to offer the closing prayer and in that same prayer, ask God, if these things are true. It was difficult for her, to get use to prying the right way, but she tried her best and said an amazing prayer. I will never forget her giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for sending me and my comapnion to her life. She asked what she had to ask and finished the prayer. Elder Gonzalez and I held still and I felt like I was in heaven. She didn´t say much. She just slowly lifted up her head, and said, "Lo sentí.." In English, "I felt it." The spirit of God, like a fire was burning that night under her little car garage. In that moment I wouldn´t have rather been anywhere else.

Shawn, Carol, Hannah, Michael, Chandler, Claire and Grace... the biggest thing I have learned as a missionary is that God answers our prayers. I have learned and seen personal revelation in my life and in the life of others. I know and testify that the God of all the universe, someone so big and immense, makes special time to listen to each and every one of his children... no matter how little they be. May we always remember to pray and never faint. I will continue to prary for each of you and give thanks to my Father in Heaven for each one of you! I love you so much and am so excited for the memories to made in the future! Like the Black Eyed Peas say it, "We´re having the time of our lives!"

Elder James Ricks


Mom... I spoke with President and he is going to interview me at our next zone conference! I also asked permission to fill in the essays and he said that will be fine! I am going to scan my drivers license and emai it right now. I didn´t leave any at home! I am going to think about my topics and pray and write them next week I think! Thank you so much! I haven´t if the package has arrived! I will check with the secretary and let you know next week! I think it should be here by now! Love you Mom! That moon doesn´t even compare to how much I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

Elder Ricks, Luz Maria, Osbaldo, Elder Pena
with convert, Elder Tovar and Gonzales


Serving in the rain....dripping wet!


Loving the Rain! (I miss that face)


Ahhh, Elder Ricks and the Ninos! Love it :)


Elder Ricks and Gonzales on a bicycle built for two?
with a future missionary I think!

My Dear Family,

I feel like five minutes ago, I was writing you all a letter last week! The time flies by so fast when you´re having fun, working hard and in the font! This last week we had a baptism of two people! Luz Maria and Osbaldo! Each one of them are people so special for me and I love them like brothers and sisters. I promised to tell their stories this week and here they are!

Luz Maria was a contact we did Elder Gonzalez and I in the street! We asked to pass by and share a message of Jesus Christ with her and she accepted! The first visited we put a baptismal date and she accepted. 14 days later, she was in the water. I had the great privilege to be able to baptize her. We asked her, "Who do you want to baptize you?" She said, "Elder Ricks!" I was so happy! She is the single mother of 3 little girls and is the legal guardian of her three nieces, whose mother rejected them. She sells perfume for a company called Fuller that is kinda like Mary Kay. She works her tail off all day long... all because she LOVES her children. She is a great mother and a great friend of mine. She said to tell you all hi!! Its kinda funny... I don't know why I thought of this but it came to mind... Her personality is exactly like Tiffany's! Ha ha She reminds me of her a lot! Kind of shy and hilarious! Tiffany was and is one of my best friends and I have thought a lot about all the fun times we had!

Luz Maria was so excited for her baptism. The adversary worked so hard on her. Her mother and sister the day before her baptism told her not to do it. They told her that if she doesn´t come to church one Sunday, we are going to kill her. Weird right? There are anti-Mormons in Mexico too! Ha ha Actually I think there are more here than in the United States! She told them all that before they can judge the church, they need to come and visit. She told them "I am proud to be a member of the True Church of Jesus Christ." I can´t explain how good it feels to hear an investigator say those words. It feels so good and so satisfying! Mike and Chandler, you as well, will love every time you hear the testimony of one of your converts. In that very moment the Lord, allows you to see his children, as he sees us and you feel a sense of gratitude coming from our Father as if it were to say, "Thank you Elder Ricks, for bringing one more of my lost sheep back to the fold."

Osbaldo was a miracle that we found him. One day it started raining cats and dogs. What I love about Mexico is the size of the rain drops. Usually when it rains, its not to bad, but this day the rain was insane and we had to get to the other side of the city so we whistled down a taxi. We got in and I remember that he had the air conditioning on and I was freezing. Osbaldo was the taxi driver and he turned to us and asked if we had a pamphlet to give him. We handed him one and began to contact him. He told us that his life hasn´t been going in the direction he wanted it to and felt like he was missing something. I felt like lightning shot through my body. I always feel like that when I feel the spirit and the urge to say something. I know when I have that feeling, the words that leave my mouth, aren´t mine, but God´s. We went the next day to his house and taught the first lesson and he accepted baptism. 14 days later, just like Luz Maria, he was baptized by a worthy holder of the priesthood, Elder Juan Carlos Gonzalez Ochoa. We have been so blessed and love being together.

I have grown to love Elder Gonzalez. He teaches me so much. I have learned about how to be a better leader and how to love my investigators. I have learned about the kind of husband I need and want to be. We joke all day long and get along so good. We carry our Heavenly Fathers holy spirit, and we bring it to the door of the houses we teach. Changes are in two weeks and who knows what will happen. I would love more time here in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca! At the end of these two weeks, I will have 6 months here! ¡¡NO ME DIGA!! More time than Catemaco! We´ll see what the Lord has in store for me! The work is progressing, I am progressing and my family is progressing! What more could I ask?! Nothing! I am stoked to hear about the rain you are receiving! I imagine that it came from Hurricane Nate right? We caught the tail of that friendly bugger too! I will send photos we took sopping wet, both in the font! and in the street! Love you all and thank you so much for your support, love, prayers, thoughts, and excitement! We are Ricks, tough as bricks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Till next week,

¿Do you not realize that I have had Diharrea since Easters?

Elder James Ricks, the happiest person on the whole wide World!
Elder James Ricks, ¡el Misionero mas feliz en todo el Mundo!


Mom... I spoke with Elder Schilhabel, the ap about BYU application papers. He said he is going to do the same and that President is going to interview me for the ecclesiastical interview! I write an essay and email it. What are the rules/guidelines/themes for the essay? If you could investigate that a little! Thanks for your help! How is your neck? I pray for you and Hannah everynight that you might heal quickly! Always remember seat belts! :)

¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡Te Amo Mamà!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Short on time today

My Dear Family,
  

   I cant believe how fast the time flies when I am having fun and enjoying what I am doing as a missionary! Tomorrow I will have one year in Mexico! I feel like just yesterday I got off the plane and began to sweat. I am in love with Mexico and everything about the culture, food, language, and traditions. I am excited to return as a family and visit all my areas and converts! They all want to meet you!

  I will have to write a tiny letter this week. It has been a nightmare trying to find a computer lab today and we have an appointment at six, but I wanted you all to know that I love you! I have a stronger testimony that the Lord is protecting the Ricks family with the fire! How crazy! Its been a little crazy here as well! I am sure you heard about Hurricane Nate and it was aimed right for Veracruz. Luckily it didn´t hit us to hard at all, but brought a lot of rain. Its actually raining really hard right now! I love it! Yesterday we got soaking wet from head to toe and I just looked at Elder Gonzalez and told him, "I love being a missionary!" The Perez family is doing amazing! They weren´t able to go to church this week for work problems but we have an appointment this Tuesday. This week we will have a baptism of three, Luz Maria, Maricela, and Osbaldo. I will explain their amazing stories next week because they have really changed who I am! This Sunday we had 12 in church and 5 with baptismal dates! Elder Gonzalez and I are receiving so many blessings and we couldn´t be happier! I love you all! Thank you for your love, prayers, thoughts and words! Lets keep working our tails off to party hard in 7 and a half months!


Elder James Ricks

Monday September 5, 2011

My Dear Family,

Wow... I don't even know where to start. This week has been so amazing... Full of blessings and miracles! I am so happy and love what I am doing! It was fun to see the comments from Pdte. Hansen! I got to love him so much and will always remember the things I learned from him. I have also grown to love Pdte Trevino! This last Thursday we had zone leader counsel with Pdte Trevino and learned so much from him. My companion and I left the meeting excited and flowing with new ideas to improve as zone leaders and to help our zone continue progressing. The Lord always blesses us when we leave our area for things we have to do and me and my best friend, Elder Gonzales saw that this week. We had an awesome day in church this last Sunday... We accomplished something that I have never done in my mission so far... We brought 15 people to church! And ten of them have dates to be baptized! Two of those ten were the Perez Family who I told you about last week! They are two amazing people and are excited to be baptized and prepare themselves to see their son again. We also brought a woman named Maricela to church and I would like to tell you her story this week!

Maricela is a single mother of one child. She is in her 30´s and her son is 18. She is bipolar. We were knocking doors, Elder G and I and she came out. She was actually a contact that Elder Rios and I did a LONG time ago, but we never could find her house. But the Lord hepled us get there almost 4 months later. We entered her home and began to know her and her mother who lives with her. She explained to us that she is bipolar but is taking medicine to help her sickness. We taught her like Preach My Gospel says, focused on her needs, adapting the principles of the Gospel to what SHE needs to know and hear. The spirit was strong and our words, spoken by humble missionaries, arrived at her heart, carried by the spirit. At the end of every lesson we explain that baptism is the way that our Father in Heaven has prepared for us to follow the example of his Son Jesus Christ. We explain that we need to be baptized by immersion, at an age of responsibility, and by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God. Then we ask this very direct and specific question, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ, by being baptized by someone holding the Priesthood authority of God?" She said yes.

The next thing we do, is put a date for the baptism, in the first lesson. We told her that the date we have prepared for her is the 17th of September. Her response was something I have never seen in my whole entire mission. She stood up out of her chair and walked to her cabinet where she had a notebook and pen and then returned to the table. She asked us to repeat the date again so that she could write down the date of her baptism. She then asked us the time of the service! Elder Gonzalez and I were so thrilled to find her and recieve this huge blessing! We invited her to church sunday morning and of course she went, but she did something in church that I have also never seen in my entire mission. She picked up her own tithing slip and asked how to fill it out with the Bishop, then PAID TITHING HER FIRST TIME IN CHURCH! It was so special to see her excitement of being in church with us and to see the light in her eyes, slightly beginning to brighten. I love being a missionary becasue every single day there are experiences like this. The Lord reminds me every day that I am his representative, and that when I am obedient to him, the blessings flow from heaven, just as Malachi explains in the Bible and Nephi in The Book of Mormon. I love this work, and I love my companion. I have never been so happy, blessed, tried, sweaty, and emotionally in-tune with the spirit! Mike and Chandler... you've both got an AMAZING experience ahead of you! I am so excited to hear your stories and see the things you will both learn.

I am enjoying so many blessings and I know it is because my family is kickin butt there in Texas! You all always say that you are so blessed for what I am doing but I want you to know I am being so blessed for what you all are doing. Thank you for your support, love, prayers, and letters! I love hearing from you! Till next week!!!!!!!!


Elder James Ricks

P.S... I am 200% better of my stomach! I haven't had problems for at least a week and a half now. I will talk with President Trevino tonight on the phone about BYU applications. He will gladly help me in anyway he can. Does he have to sign anything or do I need to have any forms or anything? If you could send in the next email an attachment of information about acceptance, and requirements I would love to read up a little bit about deadlines and a few things! Thanks! I was thinking today about somethings I would love and I thought of maybe a disc or two of church music. Preferably MOTAB or anything that has the church label. There is an awesome disc by Motab especially for missionaries! I would love it! I also haven't eaten Starburst in 16 months and the other day I was craving Starburst like crazy! Of course I always love the videos you send and the tons and tons of letters! Really Mom, anything that you send is awesome! I love everything and enjoy it all! Were you still going to send those ice-pack type thingies that you put in the fridge to cool down then wear it on your neck? That would be sweet! Thanks MOM! Love you!