August 29, 2011

Elder Gonzales and Elder Ricks


Davis Dart T shirt in Tuxtepec?


What a tiny world!

My Dear Family,

What a week it has been here in the mission and from what it sounds, there at home well! To start off, I am completely fine health wise! It has been about four days that I have had pain or problems! I was given a blessing and was taking infection medicine and I think that did the trick. Who knows what it was, but we are all good now! Back in baptizing business!

Elder Rios left this last Tuesday, and Elder Gonzalez got here to Tuxtepec. I really do say this every single time I get a new companion, but this time I really really mean it. I love my companion. The Lord has blessed me with so many good companions who have the same desire I have to work, baptize and be obedient to the rules! We get along so good and are already best friends. He says Hi to all of you! We have had so many miracles this last week and I have already learned a bunch from him. He doesn´t let me iron my own shirt so I have to find new ways to serve him! Something I like that he does, is that every time he learns something new, he thanks the person who taught him it. For example, the other day we were on the phone with some missionaries who aren´t working the way they should be working. The whole week they only taught 7 lessons. As zone leaders that is a raging clue that there is a problem.. After we hung up from them I asked my companion, "What is something we can do to help these missionaries¿" He said, "I just learned something from you. You really love the missionaries in our zone and you taught me to be more compassionate and have more charity." It isn´t like I did anything huge at all, I wasn´t even necessarily trying to teach him something, but he was ready to learn and thanked me for my example. He is an awesome Elder and we are going to baptize this whole pueblo.

This week I wanted to write about the family. I haven´t stopped thinking about my family this whole week. I have pondered alot about the effort I am putting forth as a part of the Ricks family, to be an eternal family. We are a team and we work together, towards that goal. A theory I still remember from Math in high school is that "the whole is worth more than the sum of its parts." Or something like that. Its been a while. But this teaches me that we are all individual and important in our own ways, but we are stronger, happier, smarter, and most importantly, eternal, as a whole. As a team. I have thought so much about my family because we are teaching one that was destroyed. I have constantly thought to the rich blessings I have received and for the love that I feel in my family. One day, Elder Rios and I were knocking doors. The appointment that we had fell, so we got to work finding somewhere to teach. We knocked on a door and the woman let us in. Her house is way fancy and I could tell they were loaded. But their house felt so sad. We began to get to know her and we always ask about the family. She began to cry and explained that four years ago, her oldest son passed away. She actually told us as well that she never lets people from other churches enter her house to talk with her, but she let us in because we reminded her of her son. (He passed away when he was 21)

It was such a special lesson as we tied in elements from the restoration into the Plan of Salvation. She told us that she didn´t know what to do anymore... All she wanted was to see her son again. We promised her that if she lived in accordance with Gods commandments, and prepared herself to return and live with God, that she will see her son again. Later, we taught the dad and he explained to us that he feels guilty for the death of his son. He asked us, "Who did I hurt? What did I do wrong to deserve this? Why is God punishing me?" Can I just say right now that those are not easy questions for a 20 year old missionary to handle. All my life I have been so blessed and there are peope out there who are literally fighting against God for the struggles and challenges that we all have. We explained Gods plan for his children and we shared our testimonies. They told us that they had stopped going to any church after the death of their son, but we invited them this Sunday to church. And they came. We are so blessed to be the missionaries who preach the Lords gospel. Everyday I realize more and more how blessed I am. I realize every day more and more that I am nothing and can do nothing in this work, without Him. I love my family more than my own life and I would gladly lay my life down for anyone of you. I know that God will protect us and bless us from on high, when we are obedient to him. I will give everything I have so that the Lord with continue blessing my best friends.

I am so glad to hear that everything is fine with the accident. It is always important after the trials that we receive to thank God for what we have learned. I personally will pour out my heart with gratitude for blessing and protecting my family this week. I love you all so much and know that we are an eternal family, just like the Perez family that I told you about, can be. Just one more thing.... "Do you not realize that I have had diarrhea since Easters?" Ha ha ha ha Love you all!

Elder James Ricks!

Monday August 22, 2011

My Dear Family,

Another fast week gone! It has been a week of struggles, blessings, and tender moments as Elder Rios and I have worked our last week together. He is still with me until tomorrow at about 5:00am, when he leaves for Veracruz. I am so sad to say goodbye to him. Saying goodbye to companions are always so hard for me. They are my some of my best friends and I learn so much from everyone! My new companion will be Elder Gonzalez and he will get here to Tuxtepec, tomorrow at like noon. I am so excited to work with him! He is from Cuahila, Mexico and is hilarious! We are already good buddies because when I was in Catemaco, he was also in the zone. It will be an amazing change together. It will be his first change as a ZL, so it will be fun to show another new ZL the ropes.

This week our baptisms that we had planned fell through. It seemed like everything we did to try to make it work, fell through, and we have just accepted that it wasn't their time last week, but we will see if we can get them in the water this week. Apart from the struggles, I have been horribly sick of my stomach this last week for like 5 days. I have just had a pain in my stomach that comes after I eat. I am doing much better now and am taking medicine for infection and pain. I know the Lord will bless me and my family with health.

I have to tell you all a funny experience I had this week. Elder Rios and I were just walking down a street one day in a little alley and out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something really familiar. When I looked and actually saw what I thought it was, I did two things.... First I wet my pants, and second, laughed my head off! I saw a little 11 year old girl, with a Davis High School t-shirt on. I am not even kidding. I was stunned! I went up to her and asked her where she got my high schools t-shirt and she said she bought it in a little store on the corner. Classic. I, of course, made her take a picture with me and I will send it to you. Is the world incredibly tiny or what? I could not, and still not, believe that I saw her, with a Davis High School shirt on. Surely you will all die laughing when I send the photo.

Unfortunately, I have to get going... This p-day has been a little wierd with things we had to do and we got a little shorted on writting time. I love you all! Thank you for all you do for me! Good luck in school as a new year begins! Set goals, study hard, pray alot, make friends, and set standards!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are the Ricks Family!!!!!


This letter is especially for Michael and Chandler:

To my Captians,

How are you two boys doing? I havent stopped thinking about you two this entire week. I have felt like I needed to write you both a special letter this week.

As you start this next school year, you will face battles. Satan tries so hard to get us as youth to fall in his traps. But you, Michael Shawn Ricks and you Chandler Jay Ricks are soldiers and CAPTIANS in the army of the Lord. You both hold his priesthood power, the very power with which he created this world. I want you to both know, that I look up to you both. When I grow up I want to be just like you both are. I know you are inteligent, handsome, spiritually strong examples to me. May you start this new school year with the desire to give everything you can, and rejoice in obedience and purity! I love you both, more than you know. In eight months we´ll be wrestling on a trampoline in sleeping bags quoting Nacho Libre. Get ready!

Your number one fan!
Elder James Ricks

This letter is especially for Claire and Grace:

To my Princesses!

I want you both to know that I love you more that anything! I cannot believe how big you both are. HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!!! This was your last birthday without me in the house! I want you both to know that as you start this next year of school you will both have so many opportunities to be good examples. We are always been watched and I want to encourage the both of you to always be examples of Christ like you already are. I love you both and soon enough we will be playing barbies and dolls together again! Love you!!1


Elder James Ricks

Week of Trials

My Dear Family,

Another great and super fast week is gone! I cant believe that in 13 days I will have 16 months in the mission! This week was rough... We had ups and downs and alot of humbling experiences. I am sad that this change is ending... Elder Rios has been one of my best companions and I don't look forward to saying goodbye to him. We have had so much success here together in Tuxtepec. In three months together, we have 14 converts! The Lord has blessed us so much and I have learned and grown with him by my side. The only thing is that it is never pretty to watch a missionary finish his mission. Every thing becomes so emotional. Ha ha I can only imagine how awful it feels knowing that your unique two years of missionary service is ending and that it'd be hard to balance the bitter sweet emotions. The poor thing is jumping off the walls with excitement one minute and in tears the next. Sometimes I don't know how to react. Ha ha But the most important is that we are still together for just one week longer and we have one week to give it all to the Lord. President Treviño explained to E. Rios that the mission is like a 1/2 mile sprint in the Olympics. When is it that the runner runs the fastest? At the end. The mission is the same. In that last week of my mission, I should run and give all I've got and push myself like never before. But that doesn't mean that I can slack off or step down a notch until that time comes. Every day my goal is give it my all and ALWAYS stay motivated and excited to do the Lords work. This week like I said, has humbled us alot. We had Marcos and Maria Eugenia on date for this past Saturday like I explained in my last letter, but their baptism dates fell through. The day of the baptism, their dad got mad at them saying that they were"disrespectful" and still not prepared to be baptized. I understand that maybe they are young kids and do things that kids do, but I have a hard time siding
with the Dad who is a raging drunk. It is obvious that his children dont respect him for the life that he lives, and he expects them to be perfect. Anyways... he got mad and started fighting with his wife and it all ended with him saying that he'd never give his permission to be baptized his kids. I couldn't help but cry when I saw the two of them crying becasue they weren't going to be able to be baptized. I know somehow the Lord will provide for them and even if its not me who gets to help them be baptized, the Lord with give them their opportunity. We learned alot from this experience together. Things like we have to improve our teaching, obedience and faith in the Lord. Just like the Book of Mormon, the pride cycle still exists something I have really learned as a missionary is about staying in the "prospering" stage, and not falling pride or trusting in the arm of the flesh. I can relate myself with Ammon from the book of Alma 26:12. I know that I am nothing without him and would not be able to have success as a misisonary without him. This Sunday was stake conference here in Tuxtepec and our mission president and the Temple president came here to the meetings. They talked about families, going to the temple regularly and obedience to the commandments. But what I liked the most, was when our Pdte. Treviño talked about the Doctrine of Christ found in 2 Nephi 31. First, have faith in Christ. Faith so strong that leads us to our knees in repentance. Repentance to cleansing that a desire to follow Christ into the waters of baptisms is born. Following baptism by immersion comes the Comforter that Christ promised in John 14. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the map and guide as we endure to the end. As a misisonary, my only objective is to help my investigators and converts with the first four steps: Faith, repentance, * BAPTISM*, and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. I have said it like 6,300 times but it is so true.. Missionaries are like spiritual doctors. The only difference is that the "patients" dont tell us right off the bat what their "symptoms" are. Actually there is only one doctor who knows what my investigators need and it is Jesus Christ. He communicates the treatment required to us as missionaries through the holy ghost and our duty is to ALWAYS be worthy of its guidance and support. Jeffery R. Holland taught us in the MTC that the scripture in D&C that says, "If you have not my spirit, you *shall* not teach." is acutally a commandment from God the Father saying, "If you dont have my spirit with you Elder Ricks, do NOT teach my children." With out the spirit to guide us as missionaries, we cannot do his work. I love being a missionary becasue I am learning so much. Everyday is like a dream. I always thought it would be a

neat experience to serve a mission and it was always something I wanted to do. I often regret not preparing more before the mission. I know that Mike and Chan will be amazing misisonaries and so so so successfull. I will let you all go for this week. Thank you so much for your letters, support, love, and thoughts. I can always rest assured that you are all protected, safe, and blessed. I cant wait to see you all again! But until then, I got more to baptize!!!!!!!!!!

Elder James Reed Ricks

HUGE WEEK!

Elder Ricks, Griselsa Rosales Martinez and Family, Elder Rios


Elder Ricks & Griselda Rosales Martinez


La Hotel Mision'

MY DEAR FAMILY,

I AM A LITTLE BUMMED BECAUSE THIS KEYBOARD I AM AT IS MESSED UP AND ONLY WRITES IN ALL-CAPS... I DON'T WANT YOU ALL TO THINK THAT I AM SCREAMING IN MY EMAIL!!! HA HA

IT HAS BEEN AN AMAZING WEEK. THIS SATURDAY WE HAD ONE OF THE MOST SPIRITUAL BAPTISMS OF MY WHOLE MISSION. I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY AS A PERSON. I AM LIVING THE DREAM OF MY LIFE, JUST LIKE HANNAH! IT WAS SO SO SO AWESOME TO HEAR ABOUT THE MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE YOU HAD HANNAH! THAT IS EXACTLY WHY I LOVE WHAT I DO SO MUCH. IF FEELS SO GOOD TO LOOK SOMEONE IN THE EYES AND ASK THEM IF THEY ARE WILLING TO BE BAPTIZED AND HEAR THEM SAY, "YES!!!". THERE IS NOTHING BETTER. THE WOMAN WE BAPTIZED THIS WEEK IS GRISELDA LIKE I EXPLAINED LAST WEEK. SHE CHOSE ME TO BAPTIZE HER AND IT WAS SO SO SPECIAL. AFTER ALL MY BAPTISMS I LOVE TO ASK MY INVESTIGATORS RIGHT AFTER THEY GET BAPTIZED, HOW THEY FEEL. WHEN I ASKED GRISELDA SHE SAID, "I FEEL SO GOOD...." IT WASN´T ANYTHING HUGE OR POWERFUL THAT SHE SAID, BUT IT REALLY HIT MY HARD. SHE IS HAPPY AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST PROVIDES US. HAPPINESS THAT EXTENDS BEYOND THE GRAVE. THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO LOOK FOR IMMEDIATE GRATIFICATION AND INSTANT HAPPINESS, BUT THAT ISN´T WHAT LASTS. TRUE HAPPINESS IS KNOWING WITH A SURETY THAT CHRIST HAS PAID FOR MY SINS AND THAT IF I TRY MY HARDEST AND GIVE MY ALL, ONE DAY I CAN RETURN AND LIVE WITH MY ETERNAL FAMILY FOR EVER. THAT IS WHAT MOTIVATES ME TO GIVE MY ALL HERE IN TUXTEPEC!

AS A ZONE LEADER, THIS WEEK HAS BEEN DIFFICULT. WE LOST THREE WHOLE DAYS OF WORK FOR MEETINGS WE HAD IN VERACRUZ BUT I LEARNED SO MUCH. PRESIDENT TREVIÑO IS AN AWESOME MAN WITH A STRONG TESTIMONY. HE IS LIKE A MEXICAN VERSION OF ANDY BARFUSS! I REALLY THINK OF HIM EVERY TIME I TALK WITH PRESIDENT HANSEN. AND HIS WIFE IS LIKE JULIE BARFUSS... ALWAYS CRYING IN HER TESTIMONIES!!! I AM SO SAD TO LOOSE MY COMPANION ELDER RIOS FROM MY SIDE. HE IS SUCH A GREAT PERSON AND A STRONG TOOL IN THE LORDS HAND. HE HAS TAUGHT ME SO MUCH. I HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED TO HAVE GREAT COMPANIONS AND TOGETHER, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO MIRACLES HERE. TOGETHER, WE HAVE 8 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS BAPTIZING AND A FULL TANK OF THREE WEEKS TO GO. THE LORD REALLY BLESSES HIS SERVANTS WHO ARE WILLING TO PAY THE PRICE AND SACRIFICE HIMSELF. I LOVE GETTING TO THE HOUSE IN THE NIGHT AND NOT BE ABLE TO GET UP OFF MY KNEES FOR BEING SO TIRED. IT IS SATISFYING TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT I GAVE MY ALL. BUT I AM NO WHERE NEAR PERFECT. I HAVE SO MANY ERRORS, SO MANY MISTAKES AND THINGS I HAVE TO CHANGE. I STRUGGLE EVERY NOW AND THEN WITH PATIENCE AND HUMILITY. ITS HARD SOMETIMES BUT I KNOW IT IS SOMETHING I HAVE TO LEARN HERE IN THE MISSION.

I CANT BELIEVE HOW FAST THE TIME IS FLYING. SOON ENOUGH, WE WILL ALL BE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN AND HAVING A BLAST. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS TO BE DONE AND MEMORIES TO BE MADE... BUT WE ARE NOT THERE YET. I STILL HAVE PROGRESS TO MAKE, LESSONS TO LEARN, TALENTS TO SHARPEN, AND SOULS TO SAVE.

I HAVEN'T HEARD IF I WILL BE HERE STILL IN TWO WEEKS. ITS RARE THAT THEY COULD CHANGE ME BUT SOMETIMES IT HAPPENS. WHEN THEY CHANGE BOTH COMPANIONS IN THE AREA, ITS CALLED A WHITEWASH AND THEY ARE ALWAYS INTERESTING. I WILL OF COURSE LET YOU ALL KNOW AS SOON AS I KNOW. MEANWHILE, I THINK IT WILL BE BETTER TO SEND PACKAGES STRAIGHT TO THE MISSION HOME AND NOT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE WARD HERE IN TUXTEPEC. EITHER WAY I WILL GET IT SUPER FAST BECAUSE WE ALWAYS ARE GOING TO VERACRUZ FOR ZONE LEADER MEETINGS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LETTERS AND SUPPORT! I LOVE YOU ALL AND CANT WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU NEXT WEEK!

ELDER JAMES REED RICKS

These are a few photos we took during the week! One is a hotel right by our house that is called, "Hotel: la misòn" ha ha ha in English it says, "hotel: the mission" i thought it was hilarious and extremely ironic! the others are photos from the baptism we had this week. i loved being able to baptize Griselda Rosales Martinez. it was a very very spiritual experience and many tears were shed. love you all!!

P Day moved to Wednesday this week!

My Dear Family,

Another week gone by! It has been an absolutely crazy week with alot of work, meetings, interviews, more work and baptisms! This Monday, we had a meeting in Veracruz for the zone leaders at 6pm, so we decided to change our pday from Monday, to Wednesday. I knew you would all be worried and felt bad. But everything is okay! :) It has been a great week. Super busy like I said, but I seem to like the busy weeks more than the slow ones. We have had lots of meetings with Pdte Treviño and I have learned so much from him. It is interesting to see how he gets used to not being in his house and getting use to the extreme schedule of a mission President. He has a very interesting point of view on the work and it is so awesome to learn new things!

This week we have two baptisms! One is Griselda and the other is a boy named Marcos! They both were miracles and people so special to me. Gricelda has been an investigator for six months and has never wanted to be baptized. We had left her alone and stopped visiting her so frequently. She went to church every single week with her family who are all members including her husband. One day Elder Rios and I felt like we should go and just talk with her. We got there and the subject simply changed to baptism. We taught baptism and bore testimony of the blessings and she accepted a baptismal date. The Lord works in mysterious ways and it is always so rewarding and satisfying to be just a small part in the huge change in the life of someone. Its even cooler to do it Spanish! :)

I can't believe it is already August. My companion goes home the 22 and then it will be September! The time continues to fly by so fast and every day is a blessing. Being a missionary has changed my life completely. I am so so grateful and proud to be a representative of Jesus Christ. A girl in our ward left her mission today and had her farewell party last night at the church. Her name is Magali and she will serve in Merida Yúcatan (by Cancún) and is so excited! I couldn´t stop thinking about the days before I left for my own mission. Some of the happiest and saddest days of my life! I remember I stopped listening to my ipod, texting, watching television, and being alone. I remembered my own setting apart as I heard our stake president here in Tuxtepec set apart Hermana Osorio last night. As a missionary, we are set apart from the world, allowed to partake of the spirit on a much higher plane. It will be a sad day when I am relieved and my tag taken off. I have much to learn and much to do before that day comes!

I will get going for now! I am so glad to hear that everyone is doing so great! Good to hear that your surgery went great and that Chandler made it home safe from his trip. How I worried for him here in Mexico! I love my family so much! I know we will be together forever! How blessed are we! I am going to keep working my tail off here baptizing every week till my mission ends! Love you all!!

My knee is completely better! It actually stopped bothering me like two days after I fell. Just got a little scab now but no pain or swelling or anything! I have been sick for the last 3 or 4 days from the flu. Just stuffed nose, throat and ear pain, but I have been taking medicine and I feel much better today! Life is good!! Love you all!!!!

Mom...

Something interesting happened today and I thought immediately of you so I thought I would tell you! I was in Bodega Aurrera (its like Smiths) doing my shopping for the week and out of no where, on comes the song "Sweet Caroline" by Neal Diamond blasting on the radio. It was funny for two reasons... 1) it was in English and not a single Mexican in that whole store understood what the heck Neal was saying, just me! And 2) I remembered that night on the cruise when we saw the talent show and some guy got up and sang that song!!! "Sweet Caroline... bom, bom, bom!!!!!!" Ha ha ha I thought of you and just wanted you to know that I was thinking about you all day in the store! Love you mom!

Hey Dad!

How is my hero doing? What great news about your job and conference! I am so excited that you enjoy your new field so much! Its like this... you have mastered the steps to successful selling that you can literally work in any field! You are such an essential tool and your coworkers don't know who they are working alongside of! You are kicking butt and setting a great example for me and the boys! The work is exploding here Dad. I feel that my mission has been an exponential upwards curve. I hit the ground in the MTC running 50 mph and I feel that since then it has only gotten faster faster, higher, better, stronger, deeper, and more powerful. I am experiencing so many things. Changes, struggles, miracles, trials, and blessings. I couldn't be happier! I am so grateful for the choice I made to serve the Lord. Maybe I didn't fully understand the importance of serving a mission before I came... and much less did I know of the huge change that would come about in my life. But now I do, and that is so important. Your "number one" isn't the same as when he left. I am being tested and perfected in the refiners fire and love who I am. I am having so much success Dad. I know it is because I had a Dad who taught me how to achieve success. I have learned that a good leader isn't someone who is only there to remember the rules and gives punishments. A successful leader is someone who helps those who are below him, to become as he is. That is what I have learned as a zone leader. I love you Dad! Can't wait to tell you all my stories and experiences in a hot tub in 9 short months!!! Love you!!!!

Elder Ricks

One of the best weeks of my life!

Elder Ricks, Antonio Moreno Diaz, Elder Rios

Antonio Baptized July 23, 2011

Paralized from the neck down

Delicious!

Tacos purchased off the street!

My Dear Family,

Can`t believe another week has gone by! One week closer to a great big huge Ricks family hug! It was so good to hear from my best friends and hear that everyone is doing awesome! I have thought about Chandler so much this week. I have been worried and excited to know that he got home safe and sound. I love Chandler so much. Too funny to hear about the mini-bears and the freeze dried food. It was 2 weeks in his natural habitat for him! When he gets home, everyone give him a hug for me and tell him its from James!

This week the Lord blessed Elder Rios and I. As I´ve told you, our goal here in this mission, is have a baptismal service every week. That is the goal. This week is the story of a man named Antonio. He is an angel sent from heaven to teach me what I needed to learn This last Saturday, he was baptized and almost gave his life to do it.



17 years ago, Antonio was playing soccer. He loved to play soccer with his nieces and nephews. While playing, he stepped on the soccer ball, and slipped back and smacked his head on the concrete floor. From that moment on, until this very moment he has been paralyzed from his neck down. Antonio was a reference from a member here in the ward. We past by and taught him, not really expecting much. But he accepted a baptismal date from the first lesson. He cant do anything for himself. He is at the absolute disposition of his helper (he calls her his secretary! haha) whose name is Chela, his cousin. She bathes, shaves, and clothes him. She changes his diapers and cleans the cathader and massages his fragile legs and arms. Every day, Antonio gets out of bed and into a wheel chair made just for him and gets to work. All day long under the hot hot sun, Antonio askes the people in the street for money. I had seen him stopped in the street along time ago when I just had gotten here and never ever thought that I would teach, let alone baptize him. He gave up his `work` on sundays to be able to go to church two times. The second sunday he assisted was going to be his baptism, but he couldn`t because of the cold temperatures, so we postponed his date and honestly Elde Rios and I thought it would be impossible to baptize him. Too many obstacles and we weren´t sure if he really had the desire. But we set an appointment to visit him Saturdy at nine in the morning. When we got to his house, the member who is living with him, told us that he had just left for the church. We flagged down a taxi real quick and jumped in and flew to the church. When we got there, we saw Antonio, dressed in white in his wheel chair outside the church gate. He went to the church because he wanted to be baptized. I had my baptismal clothes with me and Elder Rios as well.

His baptism was so so special. We undressed him to his diaper and wrapped his body with a white sheet. My companion, another Elder, and I then lifted him in to the font. We did the ordinance the fastest we could because of his cathader. Anotonio was really worried that water was going to enter his kidneys and I was so nervous. I remember praying in the font struggling under his weight that my Father in Heaven would help us and protect him. All he wanted to do was be baptized. The rest didn´t matter for him. We performed the baptism and we did it in only one attempt! As we were carrying him out of the font, getting really tired of his weight, something really bad happened. I slipped and fell on the slippery font tile and threw myself under Antonio to catch him. While doing so, I smacked my leg, a little lower that the knee, on the edge of the stairs. It hurt so bad, but I was to occupied in making sure that Antonio was okay. We took him out of the font and layed him in his chair and started drying him off and getting ready to change his clothes. He was so worried about me. He asked me if I was alright and told me how grateful he was. I asked him how he felt after his baptism and he told me, "Amigo Ricks, Nunca he sentido mejor..." "Friend Ricks, I have never felt so good." I couldn´t stop crying. The whole baptism was such a roller coaster of emotions. Love, peace, adrenalin, and stress. I loved watching him smile so big, even though he is in so much pain. I cant believe the faith that man has. After all he has been through, not one single time I heard a negative word leave his mouth. So thankful to God, so thankful to me and my companion. Elder Rios and I love to sing hymns in our lessons to really bring the spirit and every time we would sing a hymn with him, he would follow along to the song, without knowing the words, making up his own version and following the tune. I love Antonio Moreno Diaz. I feel that God has sent him to my life, to my mission, to learn so much. I don´t like to admit it but sometimes I complain a little too much. I´ve got NOTHING to complain about. I have 7 people living in San Antonio, Texas (well... 6 in Texas, one in Florida! :) who would give their lives for mine. 7 peope who love me and who are a part of my eternal family. Antonio was rejected by his family and they don´t help him at all. I have so many blessings and that is what my friend Antonio has taught me.

I hope you can feel and sense the love I have for him. For the work and for my companion. Today as I was cleaning the house, I just got thinking and it really hit me how much I love being a missionary. I have never been so happy. I love what I do and cant wait to tell you all the stories I have to share! Honestly, the highlight for me this week in the letters you wrote me, is to hear the words of excitement from my little brother Mike, ready and excited to serve a mission. It will be the BEST TWO YEARS OF YOUR LIFE. I promise you it, your dad promises it and the Lord promises it. You motivated me so much Michael to keep setting a good example and work my hardest here in the mission field. I can´t thank you enough! Oh and p.s. Michael. STOP GROWING! I dont want to come back and have you taller than me! haha

Ricks family.. I love you all so much! Thank you so much for your support and love and letters! Know that Elder Ricks is doing great and misses you all! :)

Elder James Ricks

P.S: My leg is doing better know. It was way swollen saturday and sunday but I took ibuprofen and tylonol (oh my gosh I cant spell that now...) and the swelling has gone down alot. Another thing real quick.. I am great on money! Dont worry about anything! Did I hear a few emails ago that there is a package on the way? Let me know so I can warn the secretary of the ward! Thanks! Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pure Rain!

Painted for me!

Thinking of my family!

Elder Ricks, Estefania, Christina & Elder Rios

My Dear Family,

Another week has passed by and I am here again at the computer writting my best friends! I cant believe how fast the time is flying. It is crazy to think that in 9 months I will be home again, doing the things we do as a family, and starting the next chapter of my life. But for right now... I am here and I am focused and having alot of success. Elder Rios and I were blessed with two baptisms this week! Their names are Estefania and Cristina and they are sisters! The oldest is 11 and the younger is 9 and they remind me so much of Claire and Grace! They are so smart and love reading the Book of Mormon. Their baptismal service was a little interesting... Elder Rios and I were cleaning out the font and filling it up again and the water ran out half way! We didnt know what to do! We didnt have time to get more water or change church buildings so we did the baptism with the font half full! It was hillarious trying to get them all the way under the water! But after a few attempts we mastered it! They were so happy after the baptism. We are teacing their parents right now who are also interested in being baptized, but need to be married first. We will help them be an eternal family. I have told you all before that every time I help a family come closer to Christ, I think of mine. I love my family so much. I know that we will be together forever!

I have never seen so much rain in my whole life. EVERY single day it has rained hard core and every thing floods. It is nice though because it lowers the temperature so its not so hot. I have gotten wet head to toe like six thousand times now and every time it happens I have to dry my clothes and shoes! I put my shoes behind the fridge and they dry super fast over night! Genious idea right?! Ha ha Apart from all the rain, I feel like all I have done this past week is traveled in bus. We went to Veracruz two times this last week, once the week before, and we are going to Veracruz this Wednesday. Lots of meetings and leadership trainings, so its all worth it. This last Thursday, we had a Zone Leader counsel with Pdte. Trevino and it was so amazing! We were 20 missionaries, the assistants and President and we all got to know him and we talked about the mission and set goals for the next semester. Our goal as a mission is 1,800 baptisms from the month of July to December and we are so excited to accomplish it! Our goal from January to June was 1,500 and we baptized 1,515 in those six months! We are excited to explode as a mission and I am personally excited because our zone is exploding as well! When I got here, the zone was very very low, but we have lifted it up so much! The Lord always blesses his servants who deserve his chosen elect. I liked what Trevor said alot in his letter. It is not about the numbers, its about the people. Every one of those 1,515 people are souls---sons and daughters of God---who were baptized and welcomed into his kingdom. Missionary work is such a blessing. A roller coaster as Elder Miller said, of happiness, sadness, stress, dissapointment, miracles, spiritual experiences, friends made, life lessons learned, and goals accomplished, all packed into the shortest 24 months of your life.

I hope Chandler is doing great! I know he is loving what he is doing! The wild boy is in his natural habitat--the WILD! Ha ha I will pray for Grandpa. How crazy and cool story about the nation-wide prayer phone call. I am going to share that experience with my investigators. Prayer is such a special experience that often we take for granted. I will pray for Grandpa as well. I know everything will be okay!

I will get going for this week! Thank you for your prayers, love and support! Nine months, 10 days and counting till the biggest, longest Ricks family group hug in world history! :) I love you all.


Elder James Ricks

P.S:

I wish so bad I could email Trevor and Robb and Jonas, but with our mission email, we are only allowed to talk with direct family. This past week I thought of a great idea! I wrote them hand-written letters and took a picture and I am going to send the pictures so that you can print them out and mail them to them! That way, they get hand-written letters from me! Or if you want, you can forward the photo to Brad and send them to him! Thanks Mom! One other thing... I could use another set of those razor blades. Gillete Fusion. They dont sell a single razor blade in all of mexico that fits the razor I bought in Taylorsivlle, Utah! Thanks! There is no big rush on that! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Zone has exploded!

Elder Rios, Tito & Elder Ricks
(Tito owns the Internet Cafe' where we email home)

My Dear Family,

How is everyone doing? It of course, has been another amazing, awesome week. The blessings dont seem to stop for Elder Rios and I and I feel so humbled and blessed here in the mission field. This week we had three baptisms! We baptized the Grandmother and her grand-daughter on Monday like I commented last week and we baptized Tito this Saturday! Every time I help someone enter the baptismal font I experience such a strange mix of emotions. It is the same everytime with every investigator. It is a mix between the love I have for them and a sense of gratitude coming from God for the work I have done. Before the mission I dont think I ever thought back on my baptism and how I felt that day. But being here in the mission has helped me to remember that day with exactness. Baptism is something so sacred and yet so so very simple. I find it so interesting that being sinless, the Son of God, humbled himself to our level and was baptized, not to clean himself from sin, but to lay the example for us. I also know that the most important ingredient of a baptism is the authority. Many churches may baptize at the age of responsibility, and many churches may even baptize by summersion, but only one church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has the AUTHORITY to act in the name of God Almighty. Before the mission I did not understand that. Do we really understand the blessing and responsibility that it is to be able to claim God the Father's authority?

In last conference Pdte. Uchkdorf talked about a man who saved up money all his life to go on a 5 star cruise. He took suitcases full of food because he didn't have money to eat all the fancy elegant food aboard. The last day, a hostess asked him which goodbye party he wanted to attend and it was in that moment that he realized that he had wasted his whole week and alot of money. The food, entertainment and activities were free. (The Ricks family knows that! :) Pdte. Uchkdorf said that that man had lived far below his priveledges and applied it to us as priesthood holders. But it applies to all of us. Every time I see a child of God dressed in white, I realize the huge responsibility I have as a missionary of the Lord Jesus Christ. Elder Rios and I are the ONLY two people in this city of thousands, worthy and authorized to preach the gospel and baptize. Not even the bishop and church leaders here in the ward are allowed. What a great responsibility and what a PRIVELDGE I have to do so.

This week was a week to test our faith and to see how devoted we really are. We worked our tails off all week and didnt see much success. But Sunday after church, we left excited and commited to forgetting ourselves in the work and the Lord blessed us. We passed by the house of a contact we did and found four new investigators and put four baptismal dates for the 30th. Four precious souls who have been waiting to be baptized. The miracles and blessings never end. Life is good as a missionary. One of my favorite things to do lately is mix up what I eat in the morning and at night. I get sick of cereal so I bought cream cheese and made heavenly quesadillas. I put cream cheese on the tortilla and then ham and warm it up on the piece of garbage electric stove we have! And they are... delicious! I love being a missionary. There is only one bad thing about serving a mission and that is that we are only allowed to serve for two years. I wish the time would never end. I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers and support and the photos! I about wet my pants when I saw the morph suits. I need one of those. I can't believe how big everyone is getting! Love you all!


Elder James Ricks

Hello President and Sister Trevino

Elder Rios, Sergio and Elder Ricks


Elder Rios and Sergio


Maria de los Angeles and Grecia her granddaughter
with family.



Elder Rios tore his pants!


My Dear Family,



WOW! What an amazing week it has been. Every week seems like an amazing week. I love every single minute that I have as a missionary. This week the zone and our area have exploded and Elder Rios and I are having so much success! We'll start with us.... This last Saturday we baptized a young man named Sergio. He was a contact that Elder Rios and I did and he excepted a baptismal date from the first discussion. Today he hung around with us all day today as we did our shopping and washing the clothes! He is 30 years old and doesn't have work. He is very special and a huge friend I have made. Sunday, two of our investigators who were going to be baptized this Saturday on the 9th, told me that they wanted to be baptized sooner because they had family coming into town, so today, ON P-DAY we baptized them... Maria de los Angeles and Grecia, her grand-daughter! They are true converts and have testimonies amazingly strong! We also have a baptism this Saturday at 5pm for Tito! His is finally going to get baptized and has completely dropped smoking! We are actually in the Internet cafe that he owns right now! He is so excited to be baptized. The Lord is blessing me so much and I know it is because I have been obedient. I love what I do. Mike and Chandler... there is nothing better in the whole world.
Now... talking about the zone. Sunday night, as we talked with every district leader in the zone and reported the numbers for the week, we found a miracle. Something that Elder Rios and I have been working for since the start of the change. It is called... a bautizona. A bautizona is when every companionship in the whole zone (we are 9 companionship's) baptizes in the same week. It is hard to accomplish and rarely happens. Elder Rios and I this week discovered that every companionship in our zone, has a at least one baptism for the week of the 9th. We will have a bautizona. But the cool part is that it will be the first time in this zones history that a bautizona has been achieved. We are so excited to explode here in Foraneos. When I passed the numbers to the assistants, one of my best friends Elder Schilhabel from California who is the assistant for the south of the mission, screamed out loud with excitement. We are so blessed.
It was really really hard to say goodbye to Pdte. Hansen. They night he left it hit me hard that he wasn't here anymore. He had become a great friend and always will be. I called him the night before I left to personally thank him for all that he has done for me. He told me that he was so proud of me and that I have a great future ahead of me in my mission and in my service in the church. I love him! Pdte Trevino is now here and excited to get to work! I called him his second night here and welcomed him to the mission and Elder Rios and I presented ourselves with him! He sounds so young! I asked if he knew Omar Rodriguez from Texas and he said that he was a great friend of his! I cant wait to get to meet Pdte Trevino this Thursday. We are going up as a zone to Veracruz to meet him as a zone!
Before I forget!.. I got the package Sunday night! Can I just say that the cookies made me cry. They were so delicious. I haven't eaten something so delicious in 14 months. :) The shorts were an AMAZING idea and of course fit me like a hand made glove! I loved the binder and the letter from Robb. He hasn't changed one bit his sense of humor. I am decided that I want to go to BYU. It will be so fun rooming with Trevor and Robb! ( And Hannah!) :) Well my Texans... there aint nothin better than tha mission. Every day is a blessing and I couldnt be happier. If I could just see my family daily, have my ipod and go to Taco Cabana every morning, I would be a missionary all of my life! Know that I love you all so much! Enjoy the photos I am going to send! We have been baptizing like crazy so there will be like 5 photos! Love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elder James Ricks
P.S: The ward all pitched in and bought me new shoes!!!!! They all love me so much! I also had another pair of shoes repaired because with the extreme heat here they completely fell apart. I had a member fix them up and he didn't charge me anything! Life is good as a missionary!!!! Love you all!

Goodbye President and Sister Hansen

The photo of us all in suits is my missionary "family!" Elder Gutierrez is the great grandpa, I am the grandpa. Elder Harmon is my son and Elder Flint, the short gringo, is my grandson! I think we are the biggest missionary family in the whole mission. In this photo is Me and my three sons, Elder Hernandez, Harmon (with his son) and Elder Molina and also my "dad" Elder Gutierrez and his son! What a cool photo right??? It is so rare! We are the only four generation family in the mission! :)







My Dear Family,

WOW!! What an amazing week it has been! It seems like I was just here last week writing you, and now I am here again, and tomorrow I will have 14 months as a missionary! I cannot fathom how fastly the time is flying. I love what I do everyday and am so blessed. This week we confirmed two of our converts who weren't confirmed last week. They are amazing converts and are so happy with the decision they have taken. This week we had the opportunity to get together as an entire mission. On Tuesday at 10:00am the entire Veracruz Mexico Mission got together in the church building next to the temple in Boca del Rio and it was such a sad/spiritual meeting. It was a goodbye conference for Pdte. Hansen and Hermana Hansen and many many many tears were shed. The week before, the secretaries of the mission asked ALL the missionaries to send a funny picture from the mission to them and they made a goodbye video for President Hansen and President was bawling. To close the meeting we sang the Mission Hymn "Brillan Rayos de Clemencia." The coolest part is that I was able to see all my old companions again... especially Elder Harmon. It was so funny when he saw me... he threw his backpack to the ground and I stripped off my suit coat and we ran to each other and hugged for like 5 minutes. It was so good to see him and hear him. He is now training a new missionary which makes me a Grandpa!!!

This week, Elder Rios has taught me so much about patience, humility and love. When he talks, it shows that he is interested in what you are saying and I know it is a talent he has been blessed with. Last night we were both laying down in our beds and I was just about to fall asleep. I told him, "Thanks for being so patient with me. I know it would be hard sometimes being my companion." He waited a little bit and didn't say anything. Then he said, "Elder Ricks, you know I love you." I about cried like a 3 year old girl. I am sad that he will be going soon. It makes the mission so easy to have great companions who have the same desire I do to work my tail off and be obedient. That is one thing I like about being a zone leader... I can rest assured that my companions that President sends me, will be the best of the best and will be hard workers. President made me cry in my letter this week. He told me as his last words to me, "I am so proud of you. I love you so much. You have a great mission ahead of you..." I will miss him so much. He reminds me of Dad.. so wise and so loving.

I love being a missionary. I cant say it enough. I don't like thinking that I only have 10 more months as a full time representative of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I feel like I don't know what to do after the mission, but I know the Lord will bless me. Every day is a blessing and an opportunity to learn an eternal lesson. The other day in my personal study I was reading Mosiah 27--the conversion of Alma the Younger. It made me remember with exactness, the day of my conversion. It was one morning during a personal study I had while I was serving in Taylorsville, Utah. An experience so sacred and special for me that I will never forget. I remember feeling a complete change of heart. A desire to sin no more and feeling spiritually reborn in Christ. I love the scriptures and this gospel and my Savior. I love and cherish my membership in this, the only true church. The members here love me so much! Today, the ward took us to Coppel (a nice store that is like.... J.C. Penny) and bought my companion and I each a pair of new shoes!! They saw that the shoes I had were all beat up and they put money together to buy us new shoes! I will be sure to thank all of them! I am thrilled and so pleased to know that everyone is doing so amazing at home! I cant believe how tall Mike and Chandler are getting and I cant believe my oldest sister is Relief Society second counselor! I have such an awesome family! Know that I love you all so much and can't wait till one day, we can all hug again! But for the mean time, I am going to work till I can't work any more, preach until all have heard, and baptize until all are clean. That is my goal. I love you all so much! ¡¡Hasta la siguente semana hablaremos!!

Elder James Reed Ricks



MOM P.S: I am all better now! Who knows what it was that got me... bad food I bet. But now I am great and even MORE skinny after throwing up one day solid! :) I never went to the doctor. I had to take out money for something not so smart I did... I accidentally lost our cell phone and when we loose our cell phones, we have to pay for them. So, that was why I had to take out dinero. Thank you for the package! I can't think of one single thing that I utterly need so I think we are good! This week we will baptize a man named Sergio! I will explain his awesome story in the next letter but just wanted to give the heads up! Love you all!!!!!!!

Happy Fathers Day! Happy Birthday Mom! Happy Birthday Hannah!‏

My amazing, wonderful, loving, eternal, happy, united, strong, dear kind family,

What a week it has been. I have been flooded with emotions towards my family this week. It has been a great week and one of the most successful of my mission. We baptized four souls this week and they are true converts and are headed for the temple of God. Their names are Marcelino and Olivia who are brother and sister. We also baptized a mother and her daughter. Their names are Miriam and Julissa. Julissa is 11 years old and reminds me exactly of Claire, but with the hyperactivity of Chandler! She gave me a big hug on the day of her baptism and wanted to hold my arm as we walked into the church for her baptism. I love being a missionary! It really has been and keeps being the best time of my life. Every day I get down on my knees and the first thing I thank God for is the sacred opportunity I have to represent the Savior of the World. I know he lives. I feel his presence everyday.
I am a little sad to tell you that right now I am a little (okay alot) sick. I have thrown up all day today and am physically exhausted. I don't know what caused it but I woke up in the morning sick to my stomach. It was the first time I have thrown up in the mission and while I was puking the funniest memory came to my mind that made me laugh. One time I was sick and throwing up and I can't remember very good who it was or what they said, but I think they asked me if I wanted water or something. I remember I held up my finger as if to say, "Hold on one second I am puking my guts out!" Good times! I have to tell you about my companion and the love he has shown me today. While I was either in the bathroom hunched over the toilet, or sprawled out on the floor trying to cool down, he made me jello because he knew I couldn't eat much. He cleaned the apartment by him self and practically washed all of our garments as well. All I could do was sleep today and he has been so patient with me. We all know that when I am sick, I groan all day long and I am not to fun to be with. I love my companion. He teaches me so much. As we passed fathers day together, we both talked about our dads. Eight months before my companion came on the mission, he, his younger brother, and his dad were in a horrible car accident. That is why my companion has big huge scars on his face. In this accident, he lost his hero--his dad--and it was hard to decide to still come on the mission. The accident was four days before his family was going to be sealed in the temple. They have since then, been sealed as a family for ever. I really don't know what I would do if I lost my hero. It would be like loosing a piece of my body. I have the best father in the whole wide world and I want everyone to know it. Everything I am is because of who my dad is. I had a strong experience this week that opened my eyes so much and brought tears to my eyes.
We have a district leader who is like a fragile piece of glass. He is really pride full and has a hard time accepting advice or comments from us as his leaders. When I got here to this area last change, I could tell that he didn't like me just because I was his zone leader. I worked my hardest to gain his confidence the last change and now we are the best of friends. Anyway... this last Sunday we called him to report his district stats. My companion was the one who was talking with him. I don't understand what happened, but in the end of the call my companion was offended by this elder and the elder was offended by my companion. We let this settle down and then got back to the house in the night to plan. This elder called me and told me that he trusted me and needed help from me. He expressed that he was mad with my companion for what had happened and asked me how he can be more patient. I explained that before the mission I was really inpatient and was hard to deal with. I explained to him that the mission has taught me how to be patient. I have learned that to be patient with others I need to step down from my thrown and try to understand from where the other person is coming. He told me, "That is interesting... I guess I do need to step down from my thrown." Then we ended the call and started to plan for the next day. At the end of the final prayer I remembered something my hero--my dad--had taught me...the importance of asking forgiveness. I told my companion that I wanted him to call the elder and ask him to forgive him even if he felt like he hadn't done anything wrong. He called and they resolved the situation. When he finished the call he told me with tears in his eyes that he was grateful that I said that he should call. I thought to myself... hold on one second. How many times did my poor dad have to try to teach me that lesson before I understood. Dad... now I understand. I put something in practice that you have taught me all my life and I felt so strongly your love as I helped my companion and the elder fix their small problems.
I thank my father in heaven for my family everyday. I don't know who or where I would be if it wasn't for each one of you. I know we are an eternal family and that makes me so so so happy. I will get going for this week,but know that I love you all so much! I absolutely LOVE the power point Clarie. Dang Power Point made me cry like a big old baby! :) Know that Elder James Reed Ricks is loving life even thought its 120 outside and he is puking like a dog! Oh the life of a missionary. :) Every day a blessing!

Elder James Reed Ricks

P.S:::: Right now we are in a Internet cafe and the guy in front of me is singing SO loud! He is listening to music on the computer and has his head phones on and every one here is cracking up! Mom you would laugh so hard!
The shirts are perfect as well! They fit me perfectly! I cant think of anything right now that I need! I am doing pretty good! Love you!

:) Called to Serve

We made the strawberry one today and I let our neighbors who are members try it and they all went crazy! They loved it! Thanks for sending me that!!!!!


How I study the Book of Mormon in my excercise time!


A Mexican bird nest hanging from a power line. You can't see it very good from this far away, but there are a ton of little birds inside and the mommy bird as well!

My Dear Family,


Hi everyone! I had so much fun reading all of your letters! Today has been a great p-day and it has been an awesome week. Elder Rios and I are being so blessed. We had baptismal dates that fell through this week and that is always hard. We pray so much that Satan doesn´t interfere with our investigators and it is painful to see a postponed baptism. This week we have 4 baptisms planned. Marcelino, Olivia, Miriam and her 11 year old daughter, Julissa. They are all amazing people and I have grown to love all of them! We are still working with Tito and Adriana and Carlos as well. I feel uncomfortable when I don´t baptize in a week. We are taught here in this mission, to baptize every single week, and as I learned in Catemaco... its possible. I felt like I really got along with Elder Canseco when I got here, but I am now seeing that we didn´t work as effectively as we could have. Elder Rios and I have really got to work here and we are seeing the blessings.

It is interesting being a zone leader. It requires a high standard of excellence. I actually like being a leader. I, like my dad, was born to lead, not follow and the leadership opportunities I am having are helping me learn so much every day. We take time out of our personal time before bed to call all of our districts and talk with each one. We ask things like how did their day go, how many lessons were they able to teach, things they felt they did good, and things they believe they could improve. Then, at the end of every call, I tell them that I love them and ask if there is anything I can do for them. I like being their friends and gaining their confidence. Every Sunday at 7pm we return to our house and we call all the district leaders again, but this time to pass the statistics for their missionaries for the past week. It is interesting to look over the information and verify where we are having problems and think about how we can fix them. We are proud to have awesome missionaries right now. They are obedient and willing to sacrifice. Sometimes, like dad explained, I feel inadequate (oh dear I can´t spell in English anymore...) but I remember that for some reason or another, the Lord needed me.

Michael and Chandler.... I can´t explain to you both enough the love I have for my mission. I encourage you both to get down on your knees and promise our Father in Heaven to one day serve a mission. It will change you and your life. I am so thankful for who I am now and who I am becoming. The young women in this day and age, deserve a returned missionary. I learned that here in the field. The blessings are so great from serving a mission but the funny part is that Dad and I can´t even begin to explain how it really is. It is only learned from doing it. But don´t decide to come on a mission, because mom and dad and the Prophet have said that we should do it. Serve a mission, because it is what you want to do. I can only imagine you two dressed in white with ties and name tags on preaching the gospel. You will be amazing. I want so bad to be able to be one of your companions. How cool would that be? Your future companions will be so lucky to work with you. Michael, you have such a gift with people. That will truly bless you on your future mission and throughout your life. Chandler, you could make a dead guy laugh his head off. You have such a gift of humor and such a friendly personality. This will help you get along with every companion that you have! You both will be missionaries who come to serve and work hard. It is one of the saddest things I have seen, to see a missionary come here to the mission and just waste his time, the Lords´ time and the funds of the church and faithful tithe payers. The Lord needs obedient missionaries like you both will be. I can´t wait to hear all your stories! Maybe one of you or both will come to the Veracruz Mission!!!!!!!! :)

I have to get going for this week. I am always so uplifted to read your letters and feel your support and love from home. I switched the weather channel on the computer to San Antonio, Texas and it says that right now its at about 89! I bet you are all enjoying the cool weather! :) Sometimes I miss home, the weather, having a car, my ipod, cell phone but most of all family. But then I remember the song, Called to Serve, and I remind myself that I have just two short years (now just only 10 months!) to serve a mission, and an entire eternity to think about it. I want to be the missionary that the Lord needs here in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca right now. Know that I love you all and am so thankful for my eternal family!

Elder James Ricks

Trial of Faith

My Dear Family,

Hola! Como están todos? Espero que se encuentran con bien! It has been an amazing week! I have been blessed with an amazing companion. I have grown to love him so much in just this first week. He is so humble and full of love and has such a strong testimony. We are best friends and love serving together. His name is Elder Rios and is from Guadalajara, Jalisco. He is so funny and is ALWAYS smiling. We are going to have so much success and fun together.

This week has been really interesting. The Lord seems to be trying to teach me faith. We have amazing investigators right now, but each one has an individual struggle. A few times in the week, I remember feeling like I wasn´t progressing and that I wasn´t having success. So I got down to the basics and started from the bottom. And it seems like right when I thought I couldn´t do anymore, the Lord blessed me with a new golden investigator or a spiritual lesson with a progressing investigator. It has been interesting to see how the Lord works in the lives of my investigators, but it is also interesting to see how he works in my life. Mom talked about how she is grateful for the opportunity to repent and be better everyday and that is how I feel as well. But part of my cleansing process has been learning to recognize how He works in my life. And it is through his tender mercies. In the Book of Mormon in the first chapter of Nephi, verse 20, Nephi promises us that everyone who is obedient to the Lord and has faith, will be showered with the "tender mercies" He has for us. I love my Savior and I am grateful for the faith I have in him. I can be sure that all I need to do to be successful as a missionary, is be obedient, work hard, and help my missionaries to do the same.

I was also thinking the other day of the prayers we offer and the answers we receive. When we want to be more patient or have more faith, we pray, "Heavenly Father... give me more patience to endure, or give me the faith I need to believe..." But when we ask for these things, the Lord doesn´t give us patience or give us faith. Rather, he organizes our lives in such a manner that we acquire experiences that teach us faith, or that teach us patience. It is the same with my investigators. Here in Mexico, EVERYONE and their chihuahua believes that it doesn´t matter what church you go to because everyone prays and worships the same God. We know that it DOES matter, because only one church is the true church. Often our investigators pray to God asking, "Tell me which is the true church," and they never recieve an answer. But when they ask a specific question and they do it with faith and a desire to know more, just like Joseph did, THEN, the heavens open and revelation flows down like rain. I love this gospel and what it has taught me. I don´t know if you all can hear or see the difference in me or not, but I feel like I have changed 100% in this last year. I feel so happy and pure and sure of who I am.

Carlos is doing great still. He wants to get baptized and has a testimony, but has a tiny problem. This last week we found out he isn´t married with his wife. I had believed that he was. We mentioned that before he can be baptized, they need to be married. They said that they would need time to think about it and we are going to check in with them tomorrow. PRAY FOR THEM! :) Tito has stopped smoking now for more than five days and the other day I talked with him by phone. He told me, "Elder Ricks... you don´t know how much praying has helped me." I love hearing that from investigators. He will be baptized this week if everything turns out good.

Thank you so much for your support and love. I received the package and LOVED it! The garments fit like a glove and the shirts as well!!!! Mom you really must know me well because the sizes couldn´t have been better! Thank you so much for the cheese cake and pudding and jello! My companion about wet his pants when he saw it all! We are going to make it tomorrow night and party! I love you all so much and can´t wait to talk to next week! Thank you so much for the photos! The house looks great and it seems like you all had a blast when Hannah was there in town. What great memories! Have an AWESOME and great summer! Be safe and always remember to read the scriptures every day! :) Love you all!


Elder James Ricks


P.S.: I am sending photos in the next email, separate! :)

Another Great Week!

My Dear Family,


Wow... This week flew by so fast! It feels like I was just here last week writing everyone! The time is flying by so fast that I can´t even believe it! It is always so good to hear that everyone is doing great as always! I am doing great here and loving the work! We are teaching investigators who truly have been prepared by the Lord and it is a blessing to be able to work and help them. Tito stopped smoking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We gave him a blessing and the cigarette box with scriptures inside and he has stopped smoking! Tell Trevor I am so thankful for his idea and that I miss him! :) Quick news... Elder Canseco and I won´t be together anymore! The change ends tomorrow and the assistants called Saturday night to tell us that he will be leaving! My new companion who comes tomorrow is Elder Rios and a great Elder. I will miss Elder Canseco, because he has taught me so much. We all know that before the mission, I was really impatient. Elder Canseco helped me alot with that. I have loved all of my companions and am thankful for all that they have taught me. Poor things have had to put up with me! :)

This week I received a miracle and it will be my story for the week....

There is a taxi driver named Carlos. He is a big big man and a big big alcoholic. He hated his life, family and was about to loose it all. We met him like this... A few weeks ago, a group of young single adults were in a huge car crash. Two died and the others in a coma or severely injured. One night we felt like we should go to the hospital to visit a member who was severely injured, who likely was going to die (he actually did end up passing away one week later). We were going to walk but my companion had to go to the bathroom and we decided to take a taxi instead. We tried stopping like five taxis but not one stopped. They were all occupied. My companion got frustrated and wanted to go back to the house because he needed to go to the bathroom, but I saw a taxi empty and flagged it down. We climbed in and I sat in the front seat and contacted him. We present ourselves as representatives of Jesus Christ and then testify. He started to tell us his story. He drinks... alot. He hits his wife, and at this time when we first met him in his taxi, they were in a huge fight. We wrote down their direction and time passed by and for some reason or another it was impossible to get in contact with him to be able to visit him. Two weeks passed by. This last Thursday I felt like we should call him. He answered and we set up an appointment for the next night. We went and taught the first lesson and invited him to be baptized on the11th of June. He accepted and emotionally began to tell us why. He told us that that night that we climbed in his taxi was his rock bottom, and that when we stopped his taxi he was on his way to beat up his wife because they were in a big fight. He said that God blessed with with two angels to stop him from hurting a daughter of God. He has stopped drinking and fighting. The drinking was the source of the problems. Their family is happy again and he will be baptized on the 11th. His wife is an inactive member and wants to come back to church.They came to church with us this Sunday and it was a special experience for them.

The lord teaches me much everyday. I am so thankful that I contacted that taxi driver. You never know who they chosen and prepared people are until you talk to them. All. I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ will help this man change his life. I love being a missionary and helping people change their lives. I have never been so happy, so content with who I am, and so thankful for the blessings I enjoy. I am so excited for this next change. My new companion will be a brand new zone leader. It will be fun training him and helping him be successful. Right now, we have 5 golden investigators on date between this week, and the next. I love this work! I love you all so much!


Que estèn bien y que Dios les cuide! ¡¡¡Somos los Ricks, y somos duros tales como los ladrillos!!!

Love,

Elder James Reed Ricks

I'm on the surface of the sun!

The motorcycle of one of our investigators


Off to find more investigators!

Me and an old guy whose job it is to pick up leaves in front of our house! Everyone calls him Grandpa and he doesnt speak spanish! He speaks a freaky weird dialect!

We ate at a fast food Chinese restaurant!

There is a English school on the corner here and I took a picture of their advertisement! It says, "Tu apols... Look! Your speaking english!" I loved how they spelt two apples! :)

My Dear Family,

HEY EVERYONE! How is everyone! It sounds like you are all good like always! Sorry to hear about your tooth pain Mom! That has got to kill! Right now we are writing in an Internet cafe owned by an investigator we are teaching right now! He says to tell you all hi! His name is Tito and is excited to be baptized. His challenge is and will be for a while, quitting smoking. Elder Canseco and I have some amazing ideas that should help him. Actually one of the ideas we are going to use is an idea Trevor gave me. We are going to buy a pack of cigarettes and dump out the smokes and put rolled up pieces of paper with scriptures written on them instead. They are called "Ciggar-nots" in English which doesn't translate to good in Spanish but we'll think of something!

This week has been so hot. It has been minimum 115 degrees out side. I sweat sweat sweat and sweat. The good news is that I will come home about the size of Grace. I can't even imagine how much weight I have lost since I started. One of the MANY blessings of serving the Lord. Its hot here but you know what....? I LOVE IT! I love working here in Mexico and it has taught me so much. I remember being so impatient in the heat in Cabo, but the mission has prepared me for many many many patience filled family trips to Mexico after the mission! AND... I will be able to speak Spanish with the "piranhas" :) I love my family and the memories I have of family trips.

Elder Canseco and I had an amazing week! We taught a TON of lessons. I set the record for my mission in lessons taught this week. We also found 11 new investigators and brought four awesome people to church. It was hard not baptizing this week. I am so use to baptizing every week but I know there will always be obstacles and challenges. It has made me want to work even harder to keep baptizing every week. Hey! Before I forget... How is Vicky doing? Was she baptized? How is Jennifer my friend from college doing? And how is Monique and their family? I really wish I had time to write everyone more frequently. I need to schedule my time better to be able to do it. Isn't sharing the gospel the best? Elder Canseco and I were talking the other day that before the mission we were happy, but NEVER like the happiness we feel right now. Before the mission I felt kind of empty. I knew who I was, but not really. Not anymore. Now I know who I am and am so thankful for my life. I wouldn't change a single thing. I am grateful for my weaknesses, because they help me learn and progress. I am really thankful for my testimony and for my membership in the only true church. In my patriarchal blessing it tells me that my membership in this church is my most prized possession, and that I should always protect it. I will always be a member of this church. I was thinking the other day about my future.... Just walking down the street in Oaxaca sweating like a horse, thinking about the James I wanted to be when I get back. All I could think about was serving in the church. I want to have a life time of callings in this church. I have so many blessings and am grateful to be able to recognize them now in the mission.

I will end for this week but want you all to know that I love you all so much. I love thinking about the memories we all have together and for the memories waiting to be made. Hawaii ought to do the trick! :) I remember playing Taps in the motor home when we crash landed in Kanab. I remember when you all would come to Subway to buy sandwiches and visit me at work. I remember Ricks Family Goal Setting sessions and I remember sitting in church with our family taking up a whole bench. I have the best family on the whole earth. I know that you all love me so much, and that is why I love you all so much! Have a great week! May you all have the opportunity to share your testimony with someone this week! There is nothing better!


Elder James Ricks, the happiest missionary in all the world! :)


P.S: Mom... I forgot to explain a few things!! :) Every single Sunday, a list is passed around in Relief Society. On that list the sisters sign up for the days that want to feed the missionaries. We eat breakfast in the house, usually not much and then we don't eat again until 2pm. Here in Mexico the lunch is the biggest meal, not dinner so we eat lunch everyday with the members in their houses at two. Then when we get back home at night, if there is still time, or if we are still hungry, we snack a little right before bed. We hardly are hungry when we get back... Just thirsty! Today I bought a spray bottle and am going to use it for a brilliant idea I had. I filled it with water and put it in the fridge! I am going to sleep with it by my bed to use and spray me to cool off in the middle of the night! :) Love you! :)


P.S.S: The letter is suppose to be like the Mexican flag! :)

Zone Leader "duties" (said with a nacho libre accent)

My Dear Family,

It has been a rough week! As zone leaders we have been super busy like always, but this week it is been more than usual. I had an experience that I thought I would never have and it made me think alot about my mission. On Thursday, we had a zone conference and after the conference, Presdient Hansen told us that he felt like something wasn´t right. He recieved revelation that we needed to visit to house of a district leader and search out problems. In the mission language, it´s called "fishing for sinners." Saturday morning we got up at 4:00am and hopped on a bus at five for the hour and a half trip to Tierra Blanca. We arrived and went to the house missionaries and found the first problem. They were sleeping in. We have to wake up everyday at 6:30 and they slept till eight. We banged on the door and the poor things jumped three feet. They knew there was problems. We told them that they had to leave their house so we could check their luggage for things that they shouldn´t have. We found books and music that is not allowed but the worst of all.... playing cards. After we visited them, we went to the house of another companionship and found more disobedience. Long story short..... Three missionaries were changed areas and all lowered to junior companions. I learned so much from this experience. My mind cannot comprehend how someone can waste even a single second of the Lords time here as missionaries. I learned why it is important to always be obediant and the affects that disobedience has on missionary work.

I cannot believe Mike had his first date! That is amazing! I want to hear from you how it went bud! I am sure it was hard to say goodbye to Hannah again. She makes everyone in her life smile and be happy. I try to be more like her everyday. We are so lucky as a family for the blessings we have. Every once and a while I´ll have the wierdest memory about the family pop into my head. The other day all of the sudden, I remembered when Dad and I put in the drain pipes in the sports court. I thank my Heavenly Father for all those memories I have in all of my prayers. I love being a missionary so much. I love knowing that all I have to do is be obediant, and the words that I speak, will be filled with power and authority. I love the scriptures. I love diving into the the lives of ancient prophets and trying to learn everything I can from them. The Book of Mormon has helped me so much. I know that by its teachings, I can return to live with God.

I am running short on time this week cause I had so many emails to read but want you all to know that I love you so much and think about you always! I look forward talking to you all every single week! I cannot believe how fast the time has gown and how fast the time is flying! Before I know it, I´ll be home again sharing all my mission stories and photos with the family! Thanks for everything, and always remember that I love you!


Elder James Ricks

You All Sounded Awesome!

My Dear Family,

WOW! It was so good to talk to you all again and hear your voices. It is so trippy how much Mike and Chandlers voices have changed! Everyone is growing up! Isn´t life good right now? I feel, just like I have said to you all a million times, that I am now spiritually awoken and I can´t stop loving life. This church and gospel means so much to me and I am so thankful for two things: 1) I am thankful to my Father in Heaven more than I could ever explain, for the opportunity to serve as a full time missionary. Mike and Chandler.. don´t you doubt for a second about serving a mission. IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. 2) The second thing I am so grateful for is my family. Where on Earth would I be without each one of you? I don´t know... but it wouldn´t be a good place. It was so good to hear your voices and talk with each of you. I felt like the time flew by from the last call in Christmas and I know before we know it, it´ll be that time of year again and we´ll be on the phone (OR SKYPE!!!) talking with each other again!

This last week was such an awesome week. As I explained in the phone call a little, I had my first wedding this last week! Even though it cost me a bunch, it was so worth it. Our investigator Arely, wanted to get baptized so bad and had to get married first before she could do it. But the poor thing lives in a wood and sheet metal shack and didn´t have the means to do it. It was amazing to be able to baptize her and think about my awesome brother Michael doing the same with my awesome sister Grace. That spirit that you felt during the baptismal service is how I feel all day long. How is it possible to not be so happy with such a spirit all day long??!! A spiritual highlight of mine everyday, is when we extend the invitation to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. We always invite the person in the first lesson and when they are chosen investigators and prepared by the Lord to except our message, the spirit is ALWAYS there, so strongly. I will miss being a called representative of Jesus Christ after my mission and not being able to extend that invitation, but I will be a "missionary" all my life--sharing my testimony and loading up the elders in our ward with references and baptisms. I am addicted to sharing the gospel and seeing the change in light in a persons eyes from when we first enter their house, to the moment they leave the font all dripping wet.

My companion and I had a good long talk after our phone call last night. It was hard to see how I talked about my family and how much I loved you because his family is a little different. Actually really different. Before he came on the mission, he didn´t even live with his family because they didn´t get along. He was always fighting with his parents because before the mission he was so so so rebellious. He told me his life story and I told him mine and we talked about where we come from. Luckily, I never had the problems he had to go through. It was sad to see how he talks about his family. So different from how I talk about mine. I told him that Hannah is one of my closest friends and that blew him away.

Once again, I am so thankful for the family I have. There have been times where I didn´t feel worthy for such an amazing family, but I have always remembered that my Father in Heaven sent me my family to help me and bless my life. I love you all so much. I love this church and everything it means to me. I wouldn´t be here in a Mexican Internet cafe, listening to Mexican rap music from the street, sweating my guts out in another country right now, if it weren´t for the testimony of this church that I possess. It is not only a true church, but it is the ONLY true church in this universe. How blessed we are.... but what great responsibility we have. Lets help our Father in Heaven, and do his work. Until next week.....!


Elder James Ricks

For Grace at her Baptism

May 2, 2011

Dear Gracie,

WOW! I can´t believe your eight years old! I remember just like yesterday when you were born and it was one of the happiest days of my life. I promised myself that I was going to be the best big brother and always be your friend! I am so excited and proud of you for deciding to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. I know that he is so happy with the decision that you have made. I wish I could be there with you to see your baptism but I hope you remember me when you are in the water! My job as a missionary is to help other people who don´t know about the church be able to do what you are doing! One of my favorite things to do is baptize people. You are going to feel so clean and pure and happy and I hope you always remember this day. Even though I´m not there to give you a big hug, know that I love you so much and am so proud of the young lady you are becoming. I love you so much! Felicidades!

Your big brother,
Elder Ricks

Nacho Libre Tricycle Fun!

Yazmin!

My Dear Family,

Another week in the books! What a wild week it has been. We have been super super busy doing divisions with the assistants in Veracruz and we also had a training meeting for all the Zone Leaders that ate up a whole day! I did divisions with an elder from California named Elder Schilhabel and I learned so much from him. It was interesting to see how the assistants live! While we were in the offices for the training, a missionary received a horrible phone call from home. I can´t imagine how hard it would be to deal with what he had to go through. His mother called to tell him that his father had left her and his five brothers and sisters for another woman. They were all members and sealed in the temple. Instantly destroyed. I thought to my self that I would rather hear that someone had died than receive that message. It is so comforting to know that Grandma Ricks is in a better place, but I can´t imagine loosing my family for the eternities. I took alot of time to think about my family. How grateful I am for each and every one of you in my life. I know that we are an eternal family and that together we will spend all time. I am thankful for parents who, despite what the world teaches us about families, have given me the example I need to raise my own family.

I have spent alot of time reflecting on the last year and my thoughts are the same as I have said before. I can´t believe how much I´ve changed. I can honestly admit that I didn´t know why I had to come on a mission one year ago. I did it because I knew it was expected of me and something that could help other people. I never imagined it would have an eternal impact on my life and help me realize who I really am. I am so thankful to be a missionary. I have not been so happy in 20 years. I have come so far in this last year. I am excited and willing to work my hardest this next year and am excited to see the blessings that this work will bring to my life.

I hope you like the photos! I have ALWAYS wanted to take a picture on the tricycle nacho libre bikes they use here in mexico with my compañero in front! There is a photo also of the little girl with baptized last week. Her name is Yazmin and would be instant friends with Claire and Grace! I love you all so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We haven´t heard anything as of yet about the calls home for Mothers Day... But I am planning to do it Sunday in the afternoon. We are going to talk with the Sister today at five to verify with her and get her number. She is an awesome member and always gives us food and makes sure we are happy! Her name is Hermana Estela and is an English teacher! I will email you this week with her number and the hour of the call. I am so excited to talk and can´t believe how fast the time has gone since Christmas! I am so excited to see photos of Graces baptism! I am going to attach a quick note to her real quick to read in her baptism! I love you all so much! I am so thankful for the blessing I have to be a missionary and share the gospel with my brothers and sisters here in Oaxaca! I love you all! Till next week!

Elder James Ricks