Transfers!!!

Well, the time has come. I am leaving the Cherry Hill 2nd Ward in New Jersey. Maybe I'll leave the whole state of New Jersey? How weird is that that I can potentially serve in 5 different states on my one mission! Just goes to show that the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission is the best mission in the world, right David? (My older brother served here...haha) :D

This week has been incredible. It has been jam packed with miracles! Remember in Malachi 3:10 in the Bible where it says that if we pay our tithing that the Lord will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings, "that there shall not be room enough to receive it"? That's how I feel about this week! There wasn't enough room to fill how many miracles and blessings we received!

Sister Bernards and I really kicked things into gear and worked worked worked and God took care of us because of it. We found SO many people who are prepared to hear the gospel and invited us back to teach them more. We found people who have not had contact with the church in years who are wanting to have us come back and invite the spirit into their homes again. An awesome man who hasn't gone to church in 10+ years promised that he would go to church when Sister Bernards and I are about to go home. We had lessons that were taught completely by the Spirit and the most UNLIKELY people have been letting testimonies grow and the Spirit teach them. And Sister Bernards and I have become SUPER good friends.

So of course, I'm being transferred haha. According to my brother Jonathan, the first rule of transfers is: "If thou lovest thine area and gettest along well with thine companion, thou shalt be transferred." Gosh, that's the truth! I'm sad to leave my companion and the area that I've grown to love so much. I'm leaving the people out here who have truly become my family. But the beauty of the message that we share is that these people who have become my family can be my family forever. I look forward to running into them again in the future and having this experience: 

"What added more to [my] joy, they were still [my family] in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were [people] of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God." (Alma 17:2-3)

In fact, I look forward to having that same experience with YOU all back home!

Heavenly Father is so good. I know that this church contains the fullness of the gospel. I know that Joseph Smith saw God, the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was called to restore Christ's church on the earth. I know that the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God, companion to the Bible. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and my best friend.

I love you! 

Love, Sister Amber Flower Ricks

My District!

Cat Wall!

Some of my teenage girls :) 

Half way through January!?!?

I had an incredible experience this week that has just strengthened my testimony of Heavenly Father's love for us. Do you remember Joseph Smith's experience when he went into the grove of trees to pray? I'm sure you do.... but do you remember what happened right BEFORE his vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?

When Joseph Smith was about to pray, he was attacked by Satan. His experience is explained in Joseph Smith History, that he knelt down to pray and suddenly an unseen force of evil overtook him and he felt like he was doomed to destruction. While he was struggling and about to abandon himself to destruction, he made the decision to call out to God. As soon as he did so, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ came down, immediately pushing away the darkness that Joseph had been experiencing. 

I notice two major lessons from this experience:

1) When we are on the right track doing what we are supposed to be doing and being a cause for good in the world, Satan will do all that he can to stop us. He will send darkness and hard struggles our way, in hopes that we will give in to despair and give up the good that we are doing.

2) Heavenly Father is always on our side and as soon as we reach out to Him, He will rescue us from the despair that Satan brings. Peace is always the feeling that accompanies our reaching out to Heavenly Father. 

I had my own experience this week that could relate. We had a rough week, with experiences that lead to me to feel like I should just abandon myself to destruction and pain. But as we turned to Heavenly Father and asked for His help, we were sent incredible miracles. For one, a 12 year old boy referred himself to get the missionary discussions, and we were able to teach him. He is incredible and is just looking for truth. We were also able to teach another amazing teenager with my first name! :D She is also just looking to improve her relationship with God and Jesus Christ. It's amazing how much joy and peace has come as we've been able to share the gospel with these two and other people that are so ready to hear it. 

God is real and He is on your side. Just call out to Him, let Him know that you have faith in Him and He'll be right there at your side. And like I've requested many times, could you go to the temple this week? Go soak in the beauty and the peace that the House of the Lord offers. It will give you a lot of direction!

I love you all and I pray for your happiness and safety. Stay close to the Lord and Jesus Christ!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

"Today I Learned..."

This last week I started a journal called "Today I Learned...." Each day I try to add at least one thing that I learned, and it's been wonderful in helping me to appreciate each day a little more. The Lord always has things to teach us, it's just up to us to pay attention. It's like one of my favorite pictures of Christ standing at the door knocking. There's no door handle on the outside, which shows that it is up to us to open the door. Christ is always there, we just need to let Him in. Heavenly Father is always teaching us something, we just need to open our eyes and notice what it is.

From this journal I've got a few things to share:

1) The BEST way to feel happy when you are feeling sad is to give service. This week we were kicked out of someone's home, after some choice words were used. As we were driving away, we prayed to invite the Spirit back and to just feel better. Immediately we saw a car stuck in the snow and we were able to jump out and push the car. It was amazing how quickly those painful feelings were gone!

2) Sometimes the people who seem to have it all together are the ones that are struggling the most. It has become so apparent to me that my role as a missionary is not to baptize people and come home with a huge number of how many people I helped to baptize. My purpose as a missionary (and as a child of God) is to invite people to come to Christ. It doesn't matter who the person is or what their situation is. If I am helping and inviting people to come to Christ, I am serving my purpose. Whether it is someone who has never heard of Christ or who has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints their entire life. 

3) We have so much to thank the Lord for! One of our investigators told us this last week, "I just have so much to thank Him for that I run out of time to ask Him for anything!" That really made me think about my prayers and wonder if I am giving enough gratitude for the blessings that I have. 

I know that this gospel is truth! I know that the Book of Mormon really is the word of the Lord written to help everyone draw nearer to Him. I know that the gospel blesses individuals and families, and I will never allow myself to walk away from that great blessing. From what I have experienced and seen on my mission so far, it is never ever worth it to leave the fold of Christ. Things may get hard, people may be insulting, time may seem to be completely taken up, but we must ALWAYS make God and His gospel the priority in our lives.

I love you all and I am so blessed to count each of you as family and friends!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

I got to play soccer on Christmas morning!

The elders in my district and me holding Christmas cards that we got from Sister Bernards' home ward

I got a bear for Christmas! At least a bear hat... :)