Baptisms!!!

Hello everyone! It's been an incredible week! We had our first two baptisms yesterday! Oh I love L&G so much. I wish I could describe them, but words don't do justice. They are just such a blessing to be around and I can't wait to be buddies with them for eternity! They were soooo excited to be baptized. And we had an amazing turn out from the ward for their baptism, which is always such a blessing. I really hope that that will encourage the members to be more involved in the work. Member involvement is so necessary for the work. That was such a cool experience though. It's interesting because L&G had been taught by missionaries before us, so they did a lot of the hard work. We were simply blessed by the Lord to be able to be a part of them moving towards baptism. And that gets me to my first lesson for this week:

1. Baptism is SO important! I always knew that. I've learned that since I was a little girl. But I never understood HOW important it is. My goodness, making that covenant and participating in the ordinance of baptism literally starts us on the path toward living with God and our families forever. If baptism by proper authority never occurs (whether in this life or the next), then it is impossible to earn that blessing! What a big humongous step that we get to be a part of people taking. When you help someone move towards baptism, you are doing them a HUGE favor. You don't have to see actually see them get baptized.... maybe it won't happen until 10 years after you meet them. But if you help them out, you played a role in their eternity. Wow. 

2. Okay I actually learned this when I first got to Jersey, but did you know that it is illegal in New Jersey to pump your own gas? They have workers at every gas station that have to pump your gas for you. So weird. It was even more weird when we went to Delaware a few weeks ago for a meeting and we had to pump our own gas again haha.

3. My companion has taught me by example what it really is to talk to God when I pray. She honestly talks to Him. Like, the tone of her voice is as though she's talking to us or to her best friend. And she tells Him exactly what she's feeling. That's really cool. I've also learned that my whole life, and I've taught it to many people. I think that I did a decent job, but it hasn't been until now that I realize that I really can just talk. Really.

4. I've been so bad about sharing "purple book" things with you. Here's one: we were at a meal with some members and the husband called on "Sister G" to give the blessing. He was calling Sister Jensen... 

Also, when people need to ask you a question: "I need to aks you a question." And the famous way of saying "water": "Do you want a cup of wooder?" 

Sister Seely has already started saying "aks" on accident.....I really hope I come home with proper grammar!

5. I love teaching teenagers!!! We gave a youth fireside last night with the youth in our ward. Oh man, I felt like I was right at home again. 

Things are going really well. We're still working with a lot of investigators and less active members and we're kept busy all the time. I love being out here. The Church is True!

Love, Sister Ricks

We got to play with horses at a members' house

An awesome member that we're working with, Sister B

Anybody heard of Flat Stanley? My nephew asked me to take Flat Stanley on adventures and take pictures with him. He's helping fill the baptismal font for our first baptism!

L & G got baptized yesterday!!

Fall in the east!

Me and Sister Seely loving the fall!

"Miracles happen, once in a while!!!" October 15

Name that movie!

We seriously see miracles all over the place! I am amazed at how much the Lord has been blessing us and this area. We met J this week- she is a young single mom who we saw sitting on her front porch when we were headed to someone else's door. We stopped to talk to her, which turned into about an hour long conversation. We had to go to the other person's house, but she said we could go back in an hour and we had another amazing conversation with her. She is SO excited for the church and has just been seeking for the truth- she committed to baptism in that visit. Earlier in the week we had received a media referral (he called in and referred himself to get a Book of Mormon) and he is also SO excited and is just looking for truth. We just have so much work we're doing and we're absolutely loving it!

G and L are getting baptized on Sunday! They are the old Cuban couple who are seriously the sweetest people I've ever met! They are so excited and have been counting down the days. It is L's birthday today, so yesterday at our lesson we surprised him with a birthday cake and he seemed close to tears. I am so happy that we are blessed to have both of them as members of the Church and that they are making sacred covenants. I can't wait for them to get sealed in the temple next year! Which means that I'll be able to go to the Washington DC temple with them! Wooo hooo!!

Random thoughts: We saw the Sandlot dog this week! Do you know what I'm talking about? The HUMONGOUS dog that they're all so scared of? It really was HUGE!  Also- ALL WOMEN: Read "Are We Not All Mothers" by Sheri Dew. That is an amazing talk about our influence as women. You'll love it!

I love this work. I love my companions and the people that I'm serving. I really have come to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ really HAS been restored, and I am blessed to be a member of His church. 

My lessons this week:

1. Member missionary work is VITAL to the work! The work of salvation is absolutely moving forward faster than ever before because of how many missionaries are serving. BUT. The work will seriously EXPLODE when members understand their role. You are so necessary to the work of salvation! I am so excited to go home to be a member missionary because my view of it has entirely changed. It is absolutely not as scary as you think. Just open your mouth! D&C 33:8. Your mouth will be filled. If you can just try it once, you will see how it really works. And I guarantee that you will be so excited that you'll want to keep doing it. Just tell someone something about our church- our youth program, family history program, Relief Society, Priesthood, activities, doctrine- anything! You'll be super blessed for it.

2. Fasting really works! I've been in need of some heavenly help, and the scriptures tell us all over the place to fast for those things we are in major need of. So I did. And I've been amazed at the results. I tell you- when Heavenly Father promises something, He comes through. That's for sure. 

3. I love little children and I miss them! That's it.

4. Gotham City is real. It's Camden, NJ.

Sorry I'm out of time! I'll try to learn more this week! :P I love you all so much! Stay close to the Lord in everything.

Love, Sister Ricks

All of us missionaries who came in together had a training this last week. So awesome to see them all!

My library!

L's birthday party!

I'm 23! What!?!

Okay, I've been so excited about writing this email! I have a request of all of you... a birthday request! I'm not much for gifts, but this one I'm excited about :) If you didn't know, it was my birthday on Friday. And then, we had that amazing conference talk from Elder Ballard about doing missionary work... you worried yet? 

Here's my request: As a birthday present to me, will you pray about an opportunity to do missionary work and then act? And then will you either send me a letter telling me about it, or just write about it on my Facebook wall so I can see it when I get home? I'm most excited about you doing missionary work, not about reporting back. But that would be cool anyway! Could you do that? :D Read Moroni 7:33. It will help you out if you're nervous!

Darn it- I had made a list of things I wanted to write about and then I left it at home... let's see if I can remember. It's been an INCREDIBLE week and I've seen miracles and lessons all over the place.

1. D&C 4. It talks about the field being "white already to harvest." In other words, the people are ALREADY ready... we just need to find them. Um. This is so real. I am blown away with how real this promise is. We have found so many people who are already ready to receive the gospel, they just needed us or the members to find them and talk to them about it. This promise is JUST as real for missionaries as it is for members. How amazing were those conference talks about member missionary work?

2. Along the same lines, it is SO true that member referrals for missionary work are so much more effective than missionaries just finding people. We are finding them, certainly, but the investigators that stick it through the hard times are almost always the ones that have friends in the gospel who support them. Get out of yourself! Go love people enough to give them this gift!

3. Those were both really preachy... sorry about that. Here's a not so preachy lesson: the scriptures are INCREDIBLE. Also, the story of Aaron teaching the father of King Lamoni... Alma 22.... is an incredible outline for missionary work. I've been really studying it in depth and it has so much to teach us about how to effectively talk to someone about the gospel. So cool.

4. SMILE! Darn, did I already do this one? We went to Philadelphia last Monday for P-day and hardly anyone smiled back when we would smile at them! It's incredible what a simple smile can do to your attitude. Honestly, when someone smiles and me and I smile back, I really do feel happier. Smiling is such a gift from God and a gift that we can give to others. So we should all do it. 

5. I wish I could give a huge hug to all of the missionaries who were working with our investigators before we were here. Their work is priceless. Although we are the missionaries who are seeing them be baptized, so much of the testimonies of these people came because of the work of previous missionaries. THANK YOU, all of you returned missionaries. You'll never have any idea of the impact that you had on those people that you DIDN'T see get baptized. You did so much more than you realize!

We are being so blessed in our area, I can't even explain. My companions and I sometimes just sit in amazement at the work that we've been trusted with. As of yesterday, we have 5 investigators with a date for baptism. We have 5 others that are on their way. And we're being let into the homes of a ton of less active members of the ward who love us and are being touched by the Spirit. 

 It was so cool on Saturday night- we were in a lesson with B (names will be omitted for privacy). He had this weird idea about God and the creation and all this stuff. As we taught him the Plan of Salvation, his face changed and you could see understanding coming. He had had a lot of questions and he seriously just answered them all on his own. The Spirit is truly the actual teacher in this work! None of what we said was what he was taught by the Spirit. 

Also- we had an investigator come to General Conference on Saturday and after we gave him a tour of the church, he asked when he could get baptized. We tried to set it up for the beginning of November, but he asked if we could move it up. He doesn't want to wait because he knows that this is exactly where he needs to be.

I love the gospel. I love the Lord and I'm so grateful for His goodness. I don't deserve any of these blessings that I'm experiencing, but I'm certainly grateful for them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints IS the one church on earth with the fullness of the gospel!

Love, Sister Ricks

 

 

With Uncle Warren before the MTC

Sister Manson and I were friends before the mission. We were at the MTC together and she's in my Zone in the mission!

Ummm..... :)

We ran up the Rocky steps right after this picture!

One of our investigators loves us so much she gave Sister Jensen her church outfit! hahaha

A member bought be a birthday pie! She's so good to me :)