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

One Year in the Mission Field!

Waiting for James and Hannah to return!








A letter to my Missionary Son,

A year ago today you entered the mission field. What an incredible year it has been for you as you serve in the Mexico Veracruz Mission! Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things I have experienced as a mother. You were smiling ear to ear and what a gift that was for your mom. How could I be sad knowing you were so happy and exactly where you should be? It has been amazing to see and hear of the growth and experiences you have had on your mission. I have a testimony of the work you are doing and I am able to say goodbye for awhile because of it.

“Your mission will be a sacred opportunity to bring others to Christ and help prepare for the Second Coming of the Savior.”
—Elder Neil L. Andersen

We had a family party tonight to celebrate your mission...of course we went to Chuy's! The year has flown by (never thought I would say that) and the year ahead will do the same. We love you Elder James Reed Ricks! Continue strong as you serve! Continue to smile and sing......

Called to serve Him, heav’nly King of glory,
Chosen e’er to witness for his name,
Far and wide we tell the Father’s story,
Far and wide his love proclaim.

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Onward, ever onward, as we glory in his name;
Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing.
God our strength will be; press forward ever,
Called to serve our King.

Called to know the richness of his blessing—
Sons and daughters, children of a King—
Glad of heart, his holy name confessing,
Praises unto him we bring.

I LOVE YOU!
Always,
Mom

The hottest place on the face of this planet!

My Dear Family,

This week has been great! But it has been the busiest week of my mission! Going from a trainer to a zone leader has been a big change in schedule and time and alot of work, but I haven´t stopped smiling for an entire week. So many things to share and say and so little time to say it all. Apart from all the changes and the busy schedule, I have enjoyed this week to think about the sacrifice of my Savior and his magnificent resurrection. The city where I am serving is EXTREMELY catholic and there are so many traditions and festivals here. It has been interesting to see a side of Mexico that I have never seen. I am serving in a city about the size of Layton, UT called Tuxtepec and it is by far the hottest place I have ever been since I left the womb. This last week it was 129 degrees every day. I now drink water all day long like it is my full time job. But do you know what? I LOVE IT! I love sweating like crazy and working my butt off here. Catemaco will always be such a special place, but Tuxtepec is quickly becoming another favorite.

My new companion is amazing! His name is Elder Canseco and is an ex-assistant to the president! I am so excited to learn from him and I have already learned so much! The first two things he taught me are two ways to cool down body temperature and be able to sleep at night when its 110 outside. When we get home in the night, we pray, plan and pray again to end the day. Then we take off our missionary clothes to just our garments. Then right before we climb into bed with a huge fan at the foot of the bed, we completely soak ourselves in the shower (garments and all) and then jump in bed. Absolutely soaking drenching wet. Combined with the fan and the cold water, it actually makes sleeping so so so easy! I haven´t ever slept so good in the mission! You all know that I like to be really cold when I sleep and it is SO cold with the fan on being soaking wet! The other trick is rubbing tooth paste on your face and it makes it feel like your face is covered in ice! We have had so much fun together so far and we are going to have a great change together! When I got here, we went with an inactive family in the night, and we found out that one of the grandchildren was 8 years old but was never baptized! She was baptized this week on Friday! Her name is Yazmin Sanches Navarro and reminds me exactly of Claire. She loves to read and draw pictures. When I got to her house one night she came up to me and told that she felt like I was her best friend and she had only known me for 1 day! She is a good friend and even more because she reminds me so much of Claire!

It has been an amazing experience learning how to be a leader and all the responsibility that there is. Every night we have to call all the missionaries and verify how their day went and correct problems if any. We loose alot of time traveling, baptismal interviews, and exchanges with other missionaries, but the Lord knows of our situation and blesses us openly! I am so thankful for the tips Dad. I have learned everything I know about being a leader from the best leader in my life... YOU! I always ask myself when I don´t know what to do, "What would Shawn Ricks do?" Then I do it. I remember that I learned how to be a leader watching your example. I have learned that the best leader is a leader how leads by example, not by fear. Kids... we are so blessed to have parents that teach us from our youth to be leaders. I teach destroyed families all day long who have no clue how a family really should be. If they could only live for one day in my shoes, to see what a real happy family is like, I know that it could change their lives. The Gospel Doctrine class this Sunday was about eternal families. The teacher asked the brethren, "Why do you want to be with your family forever?" I couldn´t help but get a little teary eyed. I didn´t say anything and just pulled out the photo of our family that I keep in my scriptures and think about each and every one of you and the experiences and memories I have with each of you. Dad in the hot tub. Mom in the movie theatre. Hannah in Ghengis. Michael on our dirt bikes. Chandler in the pool, and Claire and Grace when I ate lunch with them in their school. I am so thankful for the family I have, and want you to know that I know we are an eternal family. What a blessing that is.

I had another pure happiness moment the other day. It seems like they always come when I am on the bus on long trips. This last one was just as powerful as the last. I wouldn´t rather be anywhere else right now. I have never been so happy and satisfied with my life. I have never been able to say with such sincerity that I am living a pure life. I feel good physically, mentally, and spiritually and know that we are receiving so many blessings as a family. It comforts me so much to know that you are all good and happy! I am sad however to here about Dad. I hope you get better fast! What a champ you are. Oh and before I forget! I loved the pictures you sent me! The family photos have changed a little bit! Mike looks like a stud in his v-neck collar shirt and Chandler looks so grown up in the gray and purple shirt! Those are my boys!

To finish my letter, I wanted to send you the lyrics to the song, Lead Kindly Light but translated from the version in Spanish. I found in this last week and I have grown to love this song so much. Especially the second verse. It says,

There were moments, when in thy support, I did not lean.

Trusting in my own experience, I had no faith.

However today, I deplore that blind less.

Lend me, my God, thy freely-given clarity.

I love those few words. I know the Savior loves us and wants us to return with him. I know that even though I didn´t live a perfect life before the mission and lacked faith, the Savior of the World came to pay the price for my sins. "And by his stripes, I am healed" (Isaiah 53) May you all know that I love you and that even though I am sweating all day long, I have never EVER been so happy! We are the Ricks.. and we´re tough as bricks!


Elder James Ricks

Last week in Catemaco

It has been a great week! So much has happened and it has been so sad to say goodbye all week long to life-long friends I have made here in Catemaco! Elder Molina and I worked hard and received more blessings! We finished the week with two confirmations of a husband and wife that Elder Molina and I found. They are amazing people and going to the temple in one year! I am going to miss Catemaco so much. I was talking with President Hansen about how grateful I am for having sent me here to Catemaco. He thanked me for being a missionary that he could trust to send to what he considers to be, the hardest area in his mission. He told me, "Even for being the hardest area in the mission, that didn´t stop you from creating a 11 week long baptizing chain...!" I have thought ALOT this week about who I was when I got here almost six months ago and who I am now, getting ready to leave. Here I learned how to be a missionary. I learned here that to recieve God´s chosen children, I have to be a chosen missionary. I learned that exact obedience is key and selective obedience, isn´t obedience at all. I thank my God for having sent me here. I want each and every one of you to come here and see what it is like... To smell the air, see a dance or show in the park, and take a tour on a double decker bus! I know almost every taxi driver here, the people who own the bread shop on the corner, all the members of the church, the only guy here who sells 6 person hammocks, where the governer of Catemaco lives, all the bus routes and times, and when the grocery store has specials on sale. I love this city so much and can only dream of visiting this place with my family one day. I can see us all staying in the Hotel del Angel (the owner is an inactive member and friend of mine) and then all climbing in a tiny little boat to go out and visit Isla de los Changos (Monkey Island!). I love Catemaco and am so proud to have been able to serve here.

I found out yesterday where my new area will be, and who my new companion is! We´ll start with the not so good news first! :) My new area is the hottest area in the mission. The temperatures daily are 115-120 degrees. My area is called Tuxtepec and it is actually outside of the state of Veracruz! It is just inside the border of the state of Oaxaca! The zone where I will serve is called Tierra Blanca, which means "White Earth" and its called this for the extreme temperatures! Mom.. don´t you worry! I love the heat and am super super excited to sweat like crazy and drop a ton of weight! It is an amazing area and FULL of people waiting to be baptized! My new companion is named Elder Canseco and is an ex-assistant to the president! I am SUPER excited to be his companion and learn so much from a missionary who has been an AP. I know that no area will be just like Catemaco, but I know that the Lord needs me somewhere else. I can honestly say, that I have learned what I had to learn and done what I had to do, here in Catemaco. I was blessed with 21 baptisms here in just 5 months! I can pridefully say that I did everything I could to serve the Lord and give all I had. I am excited to explore and get to know a new area and new people and make new friends.

I totally forgot to tell you! I got the package earlier than I expected! We had a special conference with President Hansen this Saturday and he brought down the package! The shoes are.... AMAZING! They fit like a glove! Whoever sowed those shoes together took my exact size and made that shoe exactly for my foot! I put them on and walked around and felt like I could walk all day long! THANK YOU SO MUCH for the cheesecake! I am so excited to make it with my new companion! I loved the beef jerkey and gum as well! Thank you so much for my scriptures as well! I took some time to flip through the pages and see all the markings I had made in seminary. It feels like that was so long ago, but at the same time, it feels like yesterday. I am so filled with joy to look back at the progress I have made since then and see how far I have come. I love my life. I love my family and I love this work. I love Catemaco and I love my Savior. Here in Mexico, Easter is a little different. It is acutally one of the most sin-filled weeks that there is here in Mexico. The week before Semana Santa (Holy Week) starts, EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG goes to the Catholic church and everyone repents for the sins that they will commit in the week that comes. It was cool to see everyone walking around with ash on their foreheads for Ash Wednesday and then everyone carrying huge palm leaves around on the Sunday of Palms. Weird and false catholic traditions, yes... but memories I will always have! I send this email extrememly grateful for having been able to serve here and extremely excited to get to know another area and more people! May you all know that I love you and I wish to do everything I can to make you all proud! Thank you so much for your letters, prayers, thoughts, support, laughs, and example. We are the Ricks, and we´re tough as bricks!

-Elder James Ricks

These pictures are a little weird! One is of a HUGE spider that we found in our house.. biggest spider (that wasn´t a triantula) that I have ever seen. The other is a photo from one of the food appointments we had. She bought me Coyame, a soft drink that I absolutely LOVE that is made only here in Catemaco! And the last one is a photo of a car that I found that had a license plate from Utah on one end of the bumper and one from here in Catemaco, Veracruz on the other end! Such a small world and in one piece of junk car, my life before the mission, and my current life IN the mission, were connected! How cool is that!!?!?!? I love you all so much! Enjoy skinny Elder Ricks!!!!!!!!

Elder James Ricks

Mom... I hope you know that there is a sweaty and skinny son of yours in Mexico who loves you so much. I saw the moon Saturday night. Last night the moon was so so so big and bright red! I thought of you! Love you Mom!

All is well!

My Dear Family,

Wow! What a crazy week it has been! All is well here in Catemaco from the Earthquake! We didn´t feel a thing! It was one of the many blessings and miracles that I recieved this week! We have worked hard this week and for the 10th straight week, we baptized!!! We had four on date for this past week, but one of the children didn´t have permission from his parents... yet! :) We baptized three this week, Felipe and his wife, Clara, and Magda, the sister of the our other two converts Janneth and Sandra! They are all so sad that I am leaving! It is going to be so hard to leave this area. Here I learned how to be a missionary and acquired my love for the Lord´s work. I thank my Father in Heaven and President Hansen for having sent me here to learn so much. All the sisters were fighting in relief society this last sunday to sign up for the food appointments for my last week here in Catemaco! There are so many people here that I love and who are life long friends! One of the thousands of benefits of serving a mission, are the friends you make.

I have been thinking and meditating alot this week about what it means to be a leader, getting ready to be a zone leader. For about 3 weeks Elder Molina and I haven´t had the best teaching practices that I was looking for. I took time to think this week about how I could help him focus more in the investigator and not so much in using eloquent and fancy words. I thought to my self, "All he needs is confidence and the feeling that he is a great missionary." Before we started the next practice, I told him how proud I am to be his companion and teach next to him. I told him all the things that he has taught me and shared with him what I thought his strong points are. After that, we began the practice and it was the best practice I have had with him. Everything changed when I learned how to be a leader and motivate instead of expect him to know and do everything right and then correct him for all the wrong things after. I learned that a good leader, like my Dad, teaches by example and motivates and helps others feel like the most important person in the world. I am thankful for having learned this lesson this last week.

It is sad to have to leave a place that means so much to me, but I know there are other people waiting in other places for the testimony I have to share. I hope and pray that I can do everything I can to find and help them! I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and support and words! One hour really isn´t enough to write all I could say and write all of you personally! I am excited to talk to everyone in a short time! Man the time is FLYING by! :) Until next week!


Elder James Ricks

Nescafe' Jesucristo

My Dear Family...


What an amazing week it has been. I had the blessing to be able to watch all 5 sessions of conference in English again! It was so renewing to hear their voices and see the church in the United States. I told my companion that the church HAS to be true just because of how good the choir sounds! I took so many notes and did a deep self inspection and have made personal goals to fix weak areas in my life and strive to help others more. I also have re-commited myself to giving every ounce of energy I have to the Lord as a missionary. This week also ended great with my ninth straigth baptism! We baptized Teresa Garcia Manilla, a woman who Elder Harmon and I found who is in a wheel chair. She is paralyzed in her left side of the body and lifting her into the font was something I will never forget. She has had such a hard life and is finally resting in the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and the Restored Gospel. Man I love this work... But sometimes we have trials....

President Hansen called me this past Thursday with some good news... and some not so good. The bad first. This change will be my last here in Catemaco. On the 19th of April I will be changed. I still don´t know where, and will be sure to tell you when I know. I don´t like thinking about leaving this place so sacred to me. I learned here how to be a missionary. I made friends that I will never forget and found a family that I will take to the temple. I had to stop myself and remind myself that the changes are to help us progress and grow and in some instances, its because President needs our help. That is the good news. President called me to tell me that I will be made a Zone Leader this next change!!!!! I was blown away when he said that! I am training right now and will skip the whole step of being a district leader first! He said he needed my help! I am nervous because I haven´t had a leadership position yet in the mission besides training and I´m going straight from nothing to a ZONE LEADER! I am excited and ready to be a leader and show a good example.

I am always so happy to know things are good at home. I know they are, and will be. I am so thankful to be able to serve and to be able to bless my family, even Grandma and Grandpa and Doug! :) I appreciate your prayers and support in ways that I can´t see. If you could pray to turn off the sun that would be great! It is hotter here than I thought it would be. Far more than I have experienced before... But I love every single second of it. I was on a hot, crowded bus the other day and just started to smile. I am so happy and have so many blessings! I thought to my self, "I am in another country. Speaking a language that I didn´t know 11 months ago and am fluent. I am helping Gods children to be saved. I am loosing weight. I love my life." I couldn´t help but just smile. I am sure all the mexicans on board thought I was high but I was really just so so so happy. I am consumed with the feelings of sharing the gospel, and preparing the world the second coming of our Redeemer. How great that day will be. May you know that I love you all. Lots of changes to come in the future but I am ready to give these last two weeks of being in Catemaco my all! We have four baptisms scheduled for this weekend! ¡Vamos a bautizar! ¡¡¡¡Cuìdense mucho!!!!

Here are some photos! Two are from the baptism that we had this week! One is a photo of our converts that we just baptized the last two weeks, feeding us! It was the first time I had helped someone be baptized, and then eat in their house! Their names are Sandra, Janneth, and Magda and their some of my best amigas. The other is of something we made to help them stop drinking coffee. We went to the store and bought a jar of coffee (I felt so bad buying it! haha) We emptied out the coffee and wrote a whole bunch of scriptures of support and motivation and put them inside. We gave it to them and told them that when the wanted to drink coffee, they had to open the jar of "our coffee" and read the scriptures. It worked. They have all stopped drinking coffee and are all baptized. Man I love this work. :)

Elder James Reed Ricks (the happiest missionary on the face of the planet) :)


Dad,

You probably heard! I got made a ZONE LEADER! I am nervous but know that God needs me to be a leader and I am so excited! Any advice from one of the best leaders I know? Let me know! How is my best friend doing? I thought about you a bunch in conference. I am thankful for a dad like you. We have SO much to talk about in 13 months! :) You´re my hero. Don´t forget it.


"Do you not realize that I have diharrea since Easters?"
"Beneath the pants, we find the man. And.... beneath the pants... we find..... his nucleus..."


Your son,
Elder James Reed Ricks

P:S---> The package still hasn´t arrived here in Catemaco yet. I am positive it is in the offices waiting! I will let you all know when I get it! Thank you so much for everything that you all do for me! SMILE!

Baptism in the Ocean!

My Dear Family, What an amazing week I have had. To start out, it has really hit me hard that I have one year. It is not easy to grasp that. I have a goal to not have one single regret after the mission and I have been re-analyzing my mission, who I am and who I want to be. I have made changes and grown so much. Today, we climbed the Hill Cummorah. It is 45 minutes from our house and is so so so so tall. We went with the whole zone and had a special experience up at the absolute top (4,000 ft.). We offered a prayer and then had a testimony meeting on the highest mountain in Los Tuxtlas, the hill where Mormon barried the records in the ground as his people were being destroyed in the final battle. We read Mormon 6 and shared our testimonies about the work we are called to do. From up on the mountain we could see all of our areas. We talked about how much confidence our Heavenly Father has put in 18 missionaries. We are the ONLY 18 people in this town that can help God´s children here, have eternal life. We promised ourselves as a zone to give these two short years everything we have. I have been so blessed. We baptized again this week. In the ocean. Her name is Janneth del Carmen Ambros Utrera and is an AMAZING person. Before she had gone to church, she wouldn´t accept a baptismal date. One day, we received a miracle and she went to church, and her world changed. Almost a week later after the first time she came to church she told us that she had never felt so close to God as she had felt in the Church. She told us that she heard a voice tell her, "Welcome home. This is your church." I gained such a strong testimony of the church. It does miracles. The baptism was in the ocean and it was AMAZING! Apart from being 110 outside there wasn´t anything I would change. It worked out so perfectly, with bathrooms and showers to change and wash off after. Right before I did the ordinance, I asked her, "Are you ready to change your life?" She looked at me and told me that she was. After the ordinance, she started to cry and it was so special. Every time someone is baptized, it is a special experience, but I had never felt like that in a baptism before. Truly was something special. After, she told me it was a day she will never forget. I love baptizing. I am addicted. Her sister wasn´t baptized for "special" reasons that I´ve never had to deal with...she will be baptized this weekend if everything turns out right. She has a few obstacles. I can´t stop sweating. It is so so so so hot here. I thought I knew what hot was but this is different. I am now using sun screen on a daily basis. And they say this is nothing... that the real fun comes in May. Apart from the heat, the work is progressing so fastly. I am working with my friend, Elder Molina on creating a house of prayer in a community in our area very very far away from the church. There are so many people prepared to hear our message and change their lives. We are teaching a woman named Teresa who is amazing. She is in a wheel chair because of an accident she had in the United States and is paralyzed in the left leg. She will be baptized this Friday. Baptisms, Baptisms, Baptisms! Blessings, Blessings, Blessings! I love what I am doing and know it is the Lords work. Without him, I am nothing. Without his help, I can´t do anything. Elder Molina and I have the salvation of God´s children here in Catemaco over our shoulders and it amazes me the confidence that God has placed in me. I won´t fail him. I am strong and know who I am. I have so much to be thankful for. Know that I love you all. May the Lord continue to bless us as a family, as we strive to make our Father proud. I love you all! Elder James Ricks

Monday March 21, 2011 Busy Week!

My Dear Family,

Wow... So much to say and so little time to say it all. Today, in one hour I have to be on a bus to Veracruz, AGAIN. I have a leadership training class and we are leaving today, sleeping in the offices tonight and coming back tomorrow. This week has been Ca-razy! Elder Molina and I are rocking it up here in Catemaco and baptizing like crazy. Janet and Magda are still on date for the 26th and we found an AMAZING investigator named Teresa that will be baptized on the 2nd. She is in a wheel chair with a paralyzed leg and pure gold. We took her to church this week and it was so much fun helping her in and out of her chair and wheel her into the church. In the parking lot before we entered she said, "Que lindo es aqui..." That means, "How beautiful it is here..." She is amazing and has a strong testimony. I have a chain of 8 weeks with baptisms and I am LOVING what I am doing. This week we are going to baptize in the OCEAN! I am so so so so excited and I will be SURE to send photos and videos! I´ll take videos tonight in Veracruz.

Before I forget... I was wondering if you could send a few things in the next package. :) I don´t really need too much food. I have tons here. :) All I do is eat and eat and eat and all I do is lose and lose and lose weight. I have never eaten so much and lost so much weight. I have thought all week about some things I could use and they are:

1. My seminary scriptures - The quadruple small scriptures. I don’t know where they are. If you can´t find them, it’s no biggey.
2. Jell-O has a product called "No Bake Cheesecake" and Elder Harmon’s family sent him a box and it was DELICIOUS. :)
3. Beef Jerky :)

It’s a pathetic list but all I can think of! Thank you so much! I had plans to write a small family letter today and write personal letters to everyone but we got hung up with a few problems. I had to visit Bro. Charmin. His wife sent us a text and said he was feeling very very depressed and sad. We went and prayed and read the scriptures with him. He trusts in us so much. I gave him a big bear hug and told him I love him. They are doing so amazing. He received the priesthood and his wife is the secretary of the Relief Society. This family is going to the temple.

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and your thoughts and support. Better letter to come next week! :) Know that I love you and always am motivated by my family. Until next week...


Elder James Ricks

New Companion in Catemaco

My Dear Family,

What a week it has been. This week was a little rougher than others, but still an AMAZING week! We had changes this week and it is always a huge hassle and waste of time traveling back and forth all day. It was hard to say goodbye to Elder Harmon. I hugged him in the terminal of the bus station and I ALMOST cried! I received a newbie! His name is Elder Molina and is from Merida, Mexico! It is like three hours from Cancun and I love him! He is the only member in his family and only has three years as member of the Church! He has a testimony muy grande and loves the mission and is ready to serve. We had a baptism this week and it was my gift to him, to let him baptize his first week here in the mission. The investigator who was baptized this week is named Sandra Patricia Ambros Utrera and she is amazing. In one week, she finished 1st Nephi and right now is about to finish Jacob! She has a strong testimony and was so excited to be baptized. Her sisters, Janet and Magda will be baptized the 26th because they haven´t come to church enough times but they as well both want to be baptized. Pure miracles here in Catemaco, like always! OH! Yes... I am still here in Catemaco! And yes... it is very very very hot. I am not sure what it is in Fahrenheit but in Celsius it’s like 40* and that is really warm. Naturally I sweat like a horse, from 9:30am to 10:30pm, and you know what.... I love every minute of it.

This week, emotionally it has been rough. I was kneeled down cleaning the baptismal font for our baptism this week when the thought hit me that I am almost half way done with my mission. That is not a fun feeling. I started thinking over the mission I have had. I felt a huge desire to do everything I can to not regret one single day after the mission. I haven´t been a PERFECT missionary, and of course there are things I wish I could go back and do better or in other ways, but I am ready and motivated to make this year the best yet. I have a goal to baptize five every month and since I made the goal in December, I have been able to fulfill it! Side note... Goals help so much. Every day I realize that more and more. I feel like I am emotionally, mentally and physically in the best shape of my life. We get back in the night and I am always so tired but strangely, it feels so good. I take a few moments at the end of every day when I am writing in my journal to think back over the day and ask myself if there was anything I could have done better. I have seen a lot of progression and it is amazing the changes I have made since I started this journey 10 1/2 months ago.

I will go for now because I am going to write personal letters to a few of you! Thank you for all your support and prayers! Know that I love you! Talk to you next week! I am excited to watch General Conference! We have a chapel here in Catemaco and we will watch it there! Side note... how is Japan doing? I don´t know if I have heard everything correctly but I hear there are a few problems over there right now. Let me know! Love you all!


Elder Ricks

March 7, 2011

My Dear Family,

Wow... Of course, another great week has gone and passed. We had another baptism this week for a child named Isaias Chagala Palafox. He is 12 years old and has been going to church since he was like two. A week ago we found out that he was never baptized because his mom became inactive. The whole time I have been here I thought he was a member. The miracles never seem to end. It was our 5th consecutive week baptizing and we are 1 of three companionships in the mission to do so. It is hard to stay humble and realize that it is not us... but the Lord. We know that the goal is to baptize every week and we have seen the blessings of obedience and hard hard work. This last month our mission was the highest baptizing mission in Mexico! We are passing through such a special time and the work of the Lord is progressing so so so rapidly.

I am so sad to say that Elder Harmon and I will not be able to stay together. President came to our district class this Tuesday and pulled us aside to talk to us. He looked at us and said, "I just can´t do it boys... I can´t keep you two together. The Lord has plans for you both.." He told us that for 10 days he had all the missionary changes planned out. He has a big huge giant board and pictures of every missionary and he moves the photos around to place changes. He told us that for 10 days he had our pictures together and the revelation just wouldn´t come for the rest of the mission. He told us he prayed and woke up early one morning to finish the changes and felt like he had to separate us. Elder Harmon and I both cried with President. Elder Harmon has become such a good friend. He has taught me so much. When President saw us start to cry, he started too, and he said he wished he could have kept us together until we finish our missions. Elder Harmon told me in his tears that he loved me, and I gave him a great big hug. I have never felt sad when I get a new companion... not like this. Elder Harmon has taught me so much and I am excited to use what I have learned throughout my mission. President told me that he felt like I needed to train another new missionary and so this Tuesday, I will go to the offices by bus again (3 1/2 hours!!!) , and receive a fresh new missionary! But this time... he will be Mexican! I am excited to train and love doing it! New missionaries always are filled with such a desire to work hard and baptize and here in Catemaco, we´ll do just that!

It is getting so so hot here. I thought it was bad in September and October when I got here to Mexico but this is worse. I feel like I could just reach out my hand and touch the sun! I am getting so tan! And loosing so much weight. I love it! All the sisters here in the branch tell me every time they see me, "Elder Ricks, would you please just write down your secret diet?" My diet is 18 miles daily and the 110* weather! :) I haven´t heard from Hannah in a while! I know she is probably super busy all the time! What is the weather like in Florida? I remember liking the weather when I was there.

This week was the week of the witches! (Brujos!) They came from all over the world to sin here, great right? There were gringos, French, European, and South Americans! There is a mountain here called Mono Blanco (White Monkey) and at 12:00am on Friday night they all went up to a cave that they say is up there and supposedly Satan comes to visit them. The truth is that it actually got a little scary here. For Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday we couldn´t go in about half of our area. At about 8pm on Friday night they started launching off these huge flaming balloons in the sky and they are in the shape of a star (the shape they worship) and they just float up and up and up and eventually explode and it rains fire. Catemaco just felt different. President had said that at anytime we wanted to leave, we could go to another area more safe and work for the day but we had a baptism that weekend and so it made things a little hard. All in all, we were protected and nothing happened to serious. The people here are so confused. They believe in the weirdest things and even though that they don´t make sense, they believe and have faith in things that really don´t exist. Its like holding up a pen and trying to convince people that the pen is an orange. We know, that clearly it is a pen, but the people we teach who have blindly followed the "false traditions of their fathers" like the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon (or "Book of the Mormons" as they call it here!). They can believe all they want in Saints and the Virgin but not one of them paid for their salvation on the cross. Only Christ.

I love being a missionary. I have thought about how mom is helping to save lives physically right now in the hospital. I have likened that to saving lives spiritually here as a missionary. We sit them down in the first lessons and take their vitals, or basic beliefs, and after we diagnose the problem. Then we prescribe the Lords medicine: Reading the Book of Mormon, praying to God, and coming to church. We give them a healing period of two weeks and then after the two weeks we set the check up appointment for the baptism. I love what I do everyday. But man is it hard. Some days it is tempting just to quit, or break a little tiny rule. But who am I, to waste even a second of the Lord´s time. I love what Jeffery R. Holland says about mission work. "It is HIS work. Do it HIS way, or go home!" So bold and loving at the same time! :) I know this is the true church. I learned that, not because I followed the example of my parents and was forced to be baptized like our Catholic friends. I learned this all because I read a book, and prayed. May you all know that I love you all so much! I think about you all every day! I wish I had more time to write everyone a personalized letter but an hour really just isn´t much! But I have to be obedient to receive the blessings! Love you all! Until next week!!! :)

Elder James R. Ricks

Strong February!

My Dear Family,

Wow! What a week it has been. Like always, so many miracles. We ended this week with our fourth consecutive baptism every week and it was a pure miracle. We were so blessed to baptize every week here in February. We have seen so many blessings and I know it is because of our obedience and diligence. Apart from being 6 thousand degrees here, the work is amazing and progressing! We are having a little problem with Brother Charmin that we baptized. Before we came he used to drink ALOT and this past week he fell into his bad habits. His family didn´t show up to church, so we left during Sacrament and went to their house. They told us why they weren’t there. We told them that they still have to keep the commandments and we told them to get ready because they were going to church. They did and they came with us. We are going to save Jose Antonio and we could use your prayers for him and his family. We are close to creating a ward here in Catemaco and a Stake in Los Tuxtlas. As you know, changes are in one week and we don´t know what to expect. President could leave us together another change or he could change us. Of course I will let you all know next week on Monday when we know. I feel like we will be together for a bit more time. I love Elder Harmon and I have learned so much from him. They sent him to me to train but I feel like he has taught me more! :) He had a rough week this last week because his Grandpa passed away. But he didn´t let him distract him from the work, like a good Elder.

This week our baptism is a 9 year old child. His older brother and sister were both baptized 4 years ago and at the time he wasn´t old enough to be baptized. His parents haven´t been baptized either. We went to their house two weeks ago and he told us he wanted to get baptized. While we were talking with him, his sister that was baptized, told us that she never received the Holy Ghost, which means her baptism is invalid and incomplete right now. We helped her understand that she had to get baptized again and asked permission from her mom. Her mom, Magdalena, didn´t like the idea of getting baptized two times in the same church and she closed up and denied permission from Oscar (9) and Dulce, her daughter. We didn´t know what to do. Thursday night, we walked back to the house thinking that we weren´t going to baptize this week. But we put our faith in the Lord and scheduled an appointment with the family. We went and taught the Restoration to the mother and after a long and extremely hard lesson of almost 2 hours, she decided to give permission to her son Oscar and we were able to baptize him this week. What a blessing and miracle, and it came when we put all of our faith in the Lord.

I wish I had more time today to write all of you personal letters but next week I am going to try and do it! I love you all so much. I almost died laughing when I read what Claire and Grace said. They are so cute and I miss them so much! Did my letters ever arrive? I sent them about a month ago! Keep an eye out and I´m sure they will get there some time. I am always so glad to hear that all is well at home. I can´t believe Michael turned 16. That is crazy! HE IS GOING TO BE DRIVING! Oh ma goodness! Everyone is growing up so quickly and I love hearing about it.

The package arrived!! And holy cow do I look good in my new pants. They fit 100% perfectly! I love love love love love them! All the gifts were so nice and thoughtful. Receiving packages is always one of my favorite things. The box and things always smell like home! I loved the watch and compass from Dads work. I wear it every day! The memory stick is perfect as well and I really appreciate it! I feel like the mail here is pretty safe but like they say it is always a little safer if you tape on a picture of Jesus or the real kicker is if you put on a picture of the Virgin Mary. Put one of those puppies on there and that package will never be touched! Even though it is a blasphemy towards God, the wickedly idolatrous beliefs of this people help my packages arrive safely! :) Family, I love what I am doing and wouldn´t be anywhere else. I am so thankful for all the blessings I have. I know that we are an eternal family. Much love and sweat here from Mexico! Until next week!!!


Elder James Ricks

Wow!

My Dear Family,

What a great week it has been. We, again, received a million miracles and learned so much. President came to our zone to interview all the missionaries and I had an amazing interview with him. He asked me to tell him what I learned from the Family Charmin and it made me cry. I told him that I learned that the Lord is preparing so many people for us and that all we have to do is search for them. He told me that I will be a leader soon and that I will receive more missionaries to train. This past week I have felt like I might get changed. It is hard to think that I will have to leave this sacred ground. I learned how to be a missionary here in Catemaco. I learned what a REAL desire to do the Lords work is. Here I learned what sacrifice and priesthood really mean. Elder Harmon has become my best friend. Hannah, you have my permission to date him. :) He and I have grown so much. At the start of this change, President told both of us that we would grow a lot in these short 6 weeks. Like I have said, I feel like I am progressing at the speed of light. There is still a chance that I won´t get changed, but if I do, I know it will be because the Lord needs me in other areas. I will always remember Catemaco and want to bring the family here after the mission.
This week was so hard. For some reason, the weather has gotten so hot. They are saying that this year will be one of the hottest. Supposedly they are still in "winter" here and right now it’s at LEAST 100* outside, so I can´t even imagine summer... It is so so so so hot. I sweat and sweat and sweat! It feels so good in the morning to take an ice cold shower. Apart from the intense heat, Satan has been working hard. We lost a few investigators who have decided they didn´t want to keep learning and investigating and that is always hard. We worked super hard this week, with the goal in mind, of being able to say, at the end of the week, that we did EVERYTHING we could to deserve the Lords rich blessings. Sunday we received 6 miracles in church. The biggest problem or challenge here is church attendance and it has always been hard. This Sunday we decided to fast and the Lord heard our prayers. We went to their houses in the morning to pick up all our investigators and bring them to church but not one answered. We thought we had failed again. Sadly we walked back to the church because it was about to start. When we arrived our investigators were there. I almost cried. The Lord knows us perfectly and tests us to the limit and then, right before we break, he returns to rescue us. The other blessing we received this week was a baptism we had on Saturday for a teenager named Mario. He is best friends with the two sons of the Family Charmin that we baptized. His parents will also be baptized right after they get married in a few weeks. Elder Harmon and I have seen so many times, the hand of the Lord. I feel so blessed to be a missionary. I get home at night exhausted, dripping in sweat, and emotionally drained and then Elder Harmon and I get down on our knees and we pray and I feel so good. I have told Elder Harmon that I feel like Aaron and Ammon, companions from the Book of Mormon. (Alma 21)
This week I heard a story that I wanted to share with you. It is about setting goals and achieving our dreams. I have thought about Hannah and how right now she is doing just that....
In ancient Greece, a popular sport was spear throwing. The best and biggest athletes set goals for distance while they practiced throwing their javelins. They would place a large object, usually a wooden stump in the field at the distance that they wanted to achieve. When they hit or met their target, the stump was lengthened and the distance increased. Among all the athletes, there was one who had goals that were a little different. One day the other spear throwers saw this athlete throwing his spear without a target, just about the time as the sun was setting. They asked him, "Where is your target? Don´t you want to achieve anything?" He replied telling them that he had his target. Confused, they asked him, "What is your target then?" The athlete replied telling them that his target was the rapidly setting sun. They all laughed at him and said he´d never reach his target and that he was wasting his time. But he kept practicing. The athlete never reached the sun, his goal, no matter how hard he tried. But one thing can be said about that athlete and that is that his javelin always flew the farthest and reached the greatest distance.
Goals help us to achieve what we want to become. They are to help us obtain more and reach higher heights. The gospel is like this. We have goals set for us. Priesthood, baptism, marriage, sealing, etc. When we put our greatest goal as the "sun" or celestial kingdom, we will do everything we can to reach to bar. But, because we are humans, just like the athlete, we will fall short. That is when the Mercy of our Loving Savior Jesus Christ will come to complete what we can´t make up. I love being his representative. I am so thankful for my parents who have taught me how to set goals and achieve my dreams. Hannah, you are living your dreams! What a special time! I am always so happy to see how amazing the family is back at home! It motivates me to work hard and keep baptizing! Elder H and I were joking that we are going to have to baptize more because it is so hot and it is another excuse to get in cold water! We are so blessed as a family and I know it is because we are members of the only true church on the Earth. Thank you for all your support and love and prayers! Until next week!
Elder James Ricks

P.S: Still haven’t received the package but it is because we haven’t seen our leaders. I think tomorrow we should get it.
P.S.S: We found out today, who the new mission President will be and his wife! They are Pdte. and Hna Tenorio and they are from Monterrey, Mexico! I haven´t heard much about him but I am excited to meet him!
P.S.S.S:It is SOOOOOO hot here! Mom... you would love it! I am getting way tan and WAY skinny! :)

February 14, 2011 All Dressed In White!

My Dear Family,

What a week it has been. So many miracles passed by my eyes. I feel like I am progressing at the speed of light. Elder Harmon and I are receiving blessing after blessing here in Catemaco. On the 11th, 4 children of God returned to his fold. The Family Charmin entered into the waters of baptism and everyone has changed their lives for eternity. I can’t explain the humility I feel, to have been a small part in helping them do so. They will forever be a part of who I am. I will stop at nothing to see each one of them in the temple in one year! Their progression has been amazing. It is impossible not to cry when we testify how much we love them in the lessons we have had with them. I wish you could all see them right now. They are all shining so bright and remind me of my shining family, in Texas, and FLORIDA! :) They started from nothing - ready to get divorced. The fathers drinking problems were tearing the family apart. The two sons didn’t want to obey. Then we came. They have turned 360 degrees. I love this work.

Elder Harmon is having problems at home. His Grandpa is slowly dying. He began to cry last week and this time it was my turn to comfort him. I love my companion like a brother. I would do anything for him. I have had AMAZING companions all of my mission, but Elder Harmon is like Uncle James for Dad. I feel like, together, we are like Ammon and Aaron in the Book of Mormon. We are battling so hard against Satan. The first week of March is when all the witches in the world come here to Catemaco, and it gets a little dangerous. March is supposed to be the hardest month here in Catemaco and right now we have 6 dates for the 5th! We are truly seeing miracles here together. Our success right now is coming from the contacts we do in the street, and member references. Here it is almost positively a baptism when a member gives us a reference. This week will baptize a boy named Mario, a neighbor and friend of the family we just baptized! The next week we have two baptisms planned, the mother and brother of two of our converts. The 5th we have like I said, 6 possibilities and we are so excited to see what happens. The end of the change is in three weeks and we feel like this is the last three weeks of being together. We will pray that President doesn’t separate us but if he does, we know it will be okay.

I am always so thrilled every week to hear how good the family is. Like you can see the progress I’ve made, I can see the progress that each of you have made. Holy cow... Chandler is a teacher. Dude... you gotta stop growing. Soon enough, Michael will be in Tawaian and Chandler in Russia (just guessing) preaching the gospel to Gods lost sheep. What an honor it is. But of course, like it happened with me, you won’t be able to realize it, till it happens. I can’t believe I almost have 10 months. Time is flying by. I love Mexico so much. Right now it is like 75 degrees and one of the local schools is having a parade and there are sixty million kids in the street and every one of them has a trumpet or drum. One of the members in our branch has a son in it and he just walked by! I am so glad to hear that things are good at home. We are truly being blessed so openly by the Savior right now. In the scriptures it says that when we are obedient of the Lord, the windows of Heaven will be opened and blessings so great and many will be poured upon us that we won’t have room enough to receive them. When we share this scripture with investigators, I always like to ask the question, "Hermano, ¿de que tomaño cree usted, que son las ventanas de los cielos?" In English, "Brother, what size do you think the windows of Heaven are?" They always smile and say, "Grande!" They are so big. We can’t even imagine the blessings that our Father has in store for us, and ALL that He asks, is our obedience. I love you all so much. I know that just like the Family Charmin will be, WE are an eternal family. Nothing can stop us. We are invincible. What strength that knowledge brings. Know that I love you all so much. You are the very substance of my prayers. Juntos, a los cielos irémos. Together, to Heaven, we will go. Until next week! Many more baptisms, smiles, challenges, obstacles, and miracles to come!

Elder James Reed Ricks

P.S: You ALL have to hear a song that I love. It is called HEALING WATERS and it is a church song that talks about the healing waters of baptisms. I cry every single time I hear it.

P.S: There are three photos. One from the baptism of the Family, one from when we went to a waterfall and I got oranges from a tree, and the third one is a photo of a drawing that Jose Angel from the Family Charmin made. Get this... his favorite show that he watches every single Tuesday, is... THE BIG BANG THEORY! He is my best friend! :)

I am so Happy!

My Dear Family,

My life can´t get any better. I have never been so happy in my entire life, like I am right now. We baptized this week! His name is Gonzalo and he is the husband of a sister. Now every person in his family are members! I have seen so many miracles this week that I don´t even know where to start. This week was so hard. So many people lied to us in the contacts we did. We ask for their directions to pass by their house and share the gospel with them, and their directions were almost all fake. It was hard. Sometimes we felt like Satan was winning. Then we saw miracles. The family we are teaching right now, to be baptized this Friday is a blessing from God. This family has become part of my life. I will never forget the Family Charmin Cruz. I have never, in any family that I have taught before, seen such drastic changes. Before the father, drank, smoke, and was caught up in the sinful life of a musician. Then we came. He has turned his life 360 degrees and is has one of the strongest testimonies of prayer I have ever seen. I will do everything I can in my power to take this family to the temple.

This week we had a special experience with "the family". We came one night to see how they were and they told us that some weird things had been happening. To get to the point, Satan was working hard on this family. When the father would prayer he would tell us that he felt like someone would come into his body and make him feel weird. He told us that the "person" made him say things like he was God and that he could take away sins with hand signals. This was a super red flag for us. God doesn´t work that way. Jose Antonio (the father) was confused because he felt like these were his answers to his prayers. Not knowing really what to do when we got back to the house, Elder Harmon and I prayed to receive inspiration as to how we could help him. We knew that it was not God dealing with him. Something different and something not so good.

We studied how the spirit talks to our souls. How it feels and we searched scriptures about the still small voice. We used Heleman 5:30 and Moroni 10:5 and D&C 6 and 9 to share with him. We explained that the spirit of God is tranquil, peaceful and warm. As children of God we have to be able distinguish between the good and the bad. Satan can imitate so many things and make them appear like truths. But he can NOT imitate peace, and joy, and pure love. He can NOT answer prayers. After we explained and bore testimony, we layed our hands on his head to give him a blessing of comfort and peace. He was shaking so bad before the blessing. He told us that he knew in that moment that what he had been experiencing wasn´t from God. He wanted to be free from Satan. I gave him a blessing of comfort and peace and protection from the Son of Lies. The spirit was so strong. We finished the blessing and the father and his wife were in tears. Later, we told us how he felt when we were giving him the blessing. He told us he recognized Elder Harmon and I as representatives of Jesus Christ because he could feel the power of the Holy Priesthood.

All of these things and successes and miracles that we are having right now are not because I am the best missionary in the world. It is not, in fact, because I have done ANYTHING. It is God. God is at my side. I am surrounded by his angles. I have a branch full of sisters who would go without food for a week to be able to feed the missionaries. I am accompanied by an Elder called of God. I hold the power of Him. Like it says in Alma 29:9, I am nothing. I glory in my God and in HIM, I have strength.

I love you all so much. So many things passing in our family right now. So many good things. We are moving forward and THAT is the key. We should never be still, and even worse, moving backwards. The Ricks Family or in Spanish, La Familia Ricks, is moving forward and progressing in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This church is true. It is the only true church on the earth. We are so blessed. I love you all so much and think of every day! Until next week!


Elder James Ricks

ENOY THE PHOTOS! - I attached a photo of the family. Elder Harmon and I, Jose Antonio (dad), Mari (mom), and their sons Jose Angel, and Omar.


P:S: Yes I was able to watch the video of Grace dancing! Too cute! I haven´t heard anything about the package but they will let me know as soon as possible! My size is 13 in shoes right now. I am going to take them to a place to fix them today. They are all over the place here.

Week of Miracles

My Dear Family,

This past week has been amazing. This last week we began the search for people who will be baptized the 5th and 12th of February. At the start of the month I planned on focusing on families. I believe I already told you that when we find and baptize a complete family, before we have one year in the mission, we can go with the family to the temple to be sealed. I have never baptized a family and made it a goal to find one. This week we said goodbye to Elder Dominguez Tuesday morning. We haven´t stopped working since then. Immediately the Lord began shedding blessings over us. In this week alone, we found three complete families that all have baptism dates. One is a family of 4 that can be baptized, Jose Antonio and his wife Mari and their two sons, Jose Angel, and Omar. The other two families are just the husband and wife because their children aren´t old enough to be baptized. This week has been one of the best of my mission. President doesn´t send just any missionary here to this area. EVERY missionary in the mission wants to be where we are right now. We baptize here like crazy. But it is not because it is easy. It is the hardest here.

I have learned so much. I don´t feel like the old James. I am so happy to look back on the progress I have made. This mission is amazing. I have thought alot... alot... about Hannah this week. I know how it feels to be alone from the family. It is not easy. But it teaches us to be the people our parents have raised us to be. Hannah you are living your dreams!!!!!!!!!! You are studying in college at DISNEYWORLD! I admire you so much Hannah! I can´t even imagine the countless missionary experiences you will have there. Be strong and know that I love you so much.

I know that Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know that he lives. I know that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to the Earth, to pay for our sins and to suffer our pains. We are never alone. He suffered everything.. pain, grief, sadness, sickness, joy, misery, love and anger. He did all this, like it says in the scriptures, so that he could be a mediator for us. So that when we pass through the tough moments in our lives, when we feel utterly alone and that no one is there, he can come to us, and comfort us. One of my favorite scriptures is in John 14:18. In Spanish is says that "Jesus Christ will never leave us as orphans. He will come to us." I testify of this promise. I witnessed the lives of the Charmin Cruz Family (the family of 4 that we found) change 110%. They were inches from getting divorced. Their son’s didn´t want anything to do with the parents. The dad drank and the mom had to work all day long selling yogurt in the street. Then the missionaries came.

We taught the message of the restoration and how it can bless our lives. We taught that God loves us and wants that we return and live with him. We taught the cleansing doctrine of baptism and invited the four to be baptized. They accepted and told us that their family "lacks the truth." I tearfully promised the blessings of a family established firmly on the rock of Jesus Christ. I testified of the love I have for my family and the blessings I have received. The next visit with them, we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End. We invited the parents to pray and ask forgiveness from their sins. We also committed them to pray and ask for the courage to forgive one another. They felt anger for one another and didn´t know what to do. The mother told us that she doubted her husband would ever apologize for the things he did to her. We promised blessings and left. The next day we returned and received the miracle. They began to tell us of the experience when they received the answer to their prayers. The father told us that when he prayed he felt like God was begging him to ask forgiveness. He said he began to cry and turned to his wife and for the first time since they were married, and asked forgiveness. I realized so many things when I heard this experience. God loves us. He answers our prayers. He is a part of this work. It is by HIM, that we find, teach and help baptize his children here in Veracruz, the "other" happiest place on earth.

I am excited to be a missionary. I know what I am doing is right. I love you all so much. I wish I could just pause your lives to be able to not miss a moment. But I know that that isn´t the plan. I love you all so much. I want you to know I am happy and safe. The Lord protects me in so many ways. When I am obedient to him, I have HIS promise of that. Know that I am doing everything I can to fulfill the calling I have been given. I love this Church. It is THE true church on the Earth today. It is lead and guided by a literal prophet of God who receives revelation and guidance for us. I testify as a representative of Jesus Christ of the truthfulness of eternal families. I would not be here separated from my family right now, if I didn´t know of the plan. I am happy and wouldn´t rather be anywhere else. Thank you for your prayers and thoughts! Until next week, all the Mexican Amor I have!


Elder James Ricks


"When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are. When you wish upon a star, your DREAMS come true."

- My little sister, Hannah


P.S: I sincerely don´t know why, but I am going through shoes likes Mexicans with tortillas. I am going to check and see if I can have my shoes re-soled. If not, we may need to start thinking of maybe buying some more. The problem is that I haven´t seen shoes on sale, in my size here in Mexico in 8 months. They are small feeted people. Ha Ha Ha I will let you know next week what we should do. Thanks again!!

Wow, what a week!

My Dear Family,

WOW! I don´t know how else to explain this week! First of all it sounds like so much has happened at home. It would be nice to be there with all the things that are going on right now, but I know this is where Elder Ricks should be right now. Elder Dominguez packs up and leaves tomorrow at 6am. President called on Saturday night and I have been moved up to senior companion. I will be staying with Elder Harmon and working still here in Catemaco. I can´t explain how excited I am! So many awesome experiences ahead. Elder Harmon is amazing. So obedient and filled with the desire, like me, to baptize.

Speaking of baptizing.... My email this week is the story of a miracle. This week we had something that is called a "bauti-zona" which is a "zone baptism." That means that every companionship of the zone I´m in, baptized this week. It rarely happens and we were so excited to do it! We baptized a 9 year old girl named, Maria Ines Abraham Buzman. She is amazing and SO smart and loves to dance. She reminds me of Claire! Apart from every companionship baptizing, we broke and set new records for the mission. In the baptism service we had, 18 people were baptized and 10 more the next day. It was so huge that President traveled down to take photos and participate in the program. The record before was 11 people in one baptism service. The other record we broke was the number of baptisms in one month. The goal for this month was 46 and the previous record in this zone was 33 baptisms. This month our zone will end with 70 baptisms. I think we will all be exalted and taken up to Heaven. Our zone is on fire. Catemaco is on fire. Right now I am working hard to find a family. I want to baptize Mom, Dad, and children before I have a year in the misison because converts, after one year from their baptisms, can go to the temple and be sealed. President gives permission to the missionaries that baptized the family, to participate in the session! I am so excited to be able to do that. I love baptizing and it truly is what I was sent here to Mexico to do.

Hannah... what a cool adventure you are setting out on. You are literally living your dreams. Make the best of it! I am sure it was so hard seeing her go. Man... it is not easy leaving the house and family. I can´t imagine how it would feel to be the parents. Sending out children into an unknown world. Mom touched a point that made me think alot. Our Heavenly Father a long time ago, had to send us out into the real world. When he did it, it wasn´t easy. I am sure he would have like to keep us all, happy and united with him. But he knew of the good that is here on the earth. He knew we had to obtain bodies to be like him. In all the love he has for us, he sent us here to the earth to be tested, tried, stretched, and blessed. He knew we would have our agency to choose the things we would do here on earth. He knew some of his children wouldn´t have the opportunity to hear the message I bring. He knew that some of his children would hear it, reject it, and not be able to see him again. It is all this knowledge that I have of him, that motivates me to do his work. To return and live with him again, we have to be baptized and take the beginning ordinances of the gospel. That is my job. I am here to help souls here in Catemaco return and live with the Almighty God. I have a scripture that I have been thinking alot about lately. Alma 29:9-10 talks about the work of the Lord. I feel as Alma felt when he said that he found pure joy in the work of the Lord.

We are an eternal family. No one can stop us from living for all time together as a family. We may all live or be in different places, but the eternal chains of an eternal family are always there. All we have to do is live the gospel, do our part, and help others along the way. I´ve thought alot about the example of Grandma Ricks. I read the scripture in Enos and I know she knew it was her time. The veil is thin and I am POSITIVE that her angelic brothers and sisters were at her side comforting her every second of her journey from this life to the next. I will make her proud. I will make all of you proud. Hannah will make us all proud. I know it. My life has been eternally blessed for a sister like her. I couldn´t asked for more than the family I have right now. I love you all so much! Until next week... "WE´RE THE RICKS--TOUGH AS BRICKS!" May the Lord continue to bless and protect each and every one of you - where ever you may be. :)

Elder James Reed Ricks