Brace Yourselves

This is one of those "let's get real" letters where I tell you what
it's really like to be a missionary. Haha with my companion finishing
her mission in a week, we've had a lot of conversations about how her
mission has effected her and it's lead me to think about the same
thing. She has 18 months to look back on and I only have 5, but a lot
has happened in just those 5 months. I figured that I would share with
you some introspective thoughts I've had about it all.

I was talking with Sister Grover about it this morning and we both
agree that most often it just kind of stinks being a missionary in the
moment, but every time we look back on it all we absolutely LOVE it.
That's a unique way of feeling haha. Let's be honest, I hate our alarm
clock, I don't like getting up early to exercise, I don't like having
to end personal study after only an hour, I don't like having to eat
all the food people feed us, I don't like feeling overwhelmed by all
of the sin that is being committed by these people I love so much, I
don't like having to plan for every hour of the next day, I don't like
going to bed knowing that I won't sleep most of the night, I don't
like waking up exhausted knowing I have to do it over again. There's a
lot more than all of that that stinks as a missionary.

But looking back over the last 5 months of my life, I've met people
that I will literally love for the rest of forever. I've met people
that have become best friends. I've seen a side of the church and the
way it runs that will be very useful for the rest of my life. I've
learned what it really means to be a member missionary and what I will
do when I get home. I've learned more about the Spirit World than I
ever imagined. I've learned more about myself and experienced The Lord
refining me to be even more of what He wants me to be. My testimony
has been eternally fortified and I've learned that it is NEVER worth
it to walk away from the gospel. I've learned that I can be loved and
forgiven for my weaknesses and I've learned that the only person whose
opinion really matters is God's. I've been pushed to my limits and
I've watched the Savior's enabling power fill in. I've felt what it is
to have The Lord pleased with my efforts. I've learned what it is like
to rely on Him when I literally have no one else I can turn to. I've
learned what I want in a future husband and marriage and family. I've
learned how weak I really am, but also how capable I can be when I
rely on the Savior. I've learned how blatantly God has saved me from
giving in to the temptations of Satan and how often He has done so.
I've learned how much I want to always be worthy of entering the
temple. I've learned how important family relationships really are.
I've learned to look past people's sins and weaknesses and to just
love them for who they really are. I've learned how destructive it is
to judge unrighteously. I've learned how destructive it is to compare
to anyone but Christ. I've learned how much I really do believe I this
work that I am a part of.

A mission is exhausting mentally, physically and spiritually. But I
love my chance to be out here sacrificing very little (in the long
run) and gaining very much in return. If you have the opportunity to
serve a mission whether as a young single adult or as an older married
couple, don't do yourself the disservice of turning the opportunity
down. It is so very worth it!

I love you all so so much!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

The Flu Bug Came to Visit...

      Well, this week can be summed up in two words: "sick" and
"iPads." Haha last Monday evening I started feeling pretty sick and
then I spent most of the rest of the week in bed. The monotony was
broken up only a few times, one of which was to attend a meeting where
all of us missionaries got iPads. Missionary work is changing in very
good ways and it's amazing to be a part of it! We taught a lesson a
few days ago to our investigator and it was amazing to be able to
utilize so many gospel tools. We are told that the internet and
technology were invented FOR missionary work, and here we are using it
to its fullest capacity right now. This is super exciting!
       Another exciting lesson happened with a member of our branch
and her family history. She and I were working on familysearch.org to
find her grandparents, and miraculously we found her grandma. When we
made the connection, it filled in an entire family line that needs to
have their temple work done and it can now be done because we found
them! That was incredible to be a part of that salvation work for her
family who has already passed away. This work is so real and it is so
much bigger than we can see with our eyes!
      It was a tough week to be stuck inside for so long (my poor
companion!), but The Lord continued to move his work forward and we
were blessed to be instruments in His hands. I love you all and I hope
that everyone is healthy and doing well! As for me, I am getting
better and I am learning even more that The Lord is in charge and this
is His missionary work- I just need to show up to the party willing to
work :)

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

Making a creative title for my email is really hard for me!

This week was one of those my-companion-is-learning-a-LOT-and-I-am-along-for-the-ride kind of weeks. Honestly, I'm so grateful that I get to be with her for it. I'm learning quite a bit about myself and about how to help people. I'm growing a lot as my companion is growing so much, and it is a huge blessing.

 

1. I've learned very powerfully that the only way to gain salvation is to help others along the way. I can't just secure my ride back to Heavenly Father and leave others by the way side. It often seems easy to get my own life in order and just do what I am supposed to do, but that is not all that Heavenly Father intended for us. He put us in families for a reason! We are supposed to help the ones closest to us- that is the only way back to Heavenly Father. "If ye have not charity, ye are nothing." (Moroni 7:46)

 

2. If someone that you know randomly comes to your mind, CONTACT THEM! Do not leave that thought left alone. The Holy Spirit works in very subtle, quiet ways and often he speaks to us with "random" thoughts. If you are having a "random" thought, act on it! I have had the privilege of contacting a few people this week that seemed to be out of no where. But I quickly discovered that the Spirit knew that they needed to be contacted and he sent me their way. Do not ignore these "random" thoughts.

 

3. "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." (Dieter F. Uchtdorf "Come, Join with Us") Satan is the father of lies. He is just waiting to convince you of the newest lie that he has created. He will feed on your weaknesses and bring you down just to watch you be miserable. Don't let him do that! He is a coward! When doubts arise, do not feed into them. Recognize that Satan is very crafty and will sneak you these doubts to convince you to doubt your faith. When you have a doubt, recognize it and then replace it with faith.

 

I love being a missionary. It gets more fun and more exciting and more difficult every day! I'm so glad to be out here. I love watching lives change through the beauty of the Atonement. If you don't know yet for sure, ask God to let you know that Christ lives. Ask God to let you know that the Church is true. Ask God to let you know HOW the gospel applies to your life. He'll let you know. I promise that.

 

I love you all!

 

Love, Sister Amber Flower Ricks

Cape May, New Jersey

I love this place! It's SOOO different from my last area. So I have a lot of adjusting to do and trying to find where I fit in. But it's coming and I'm glad to be here. My companion and I are really good friends (she actually reminds me almost exactly of Katharyne Pies, one of my best friends growing up) and we're working hard to do what these people need. I had some great lessons this week:

 

1. People can change. They can have real, lasting change. The people that you would least expect that have made really big mistakes in the past can change their lives through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the POINT of the Atonement, so that we can repent by changing and growing closer to Christ. We may not understand entirely just HOW the Atonement works, but it is so beautiful that it does work. And because it works, we need to LET people change, in the way that we think of them and treat them. Let the Atonement do what it does and let people grow and be different and accept them for who they are becoming instead of who they have been. I'm glad that I learned that this week with someone completely unexpected.

 

2. Sometimes, a big mistake made by one person can effect 10 or 20 or more people for years and years and to come. We need to be aware of the choices that we make and who might be effected by them. Just do your best and be your best!

 

3. People just want to be loved and appreciated! When they are treated as a son or a daughter of God full of potential, they are very capable of helping miracles to happen. I'm grateful to be learning just HOW important it is to love people through their mistakes and weaknesses. I've seen some people live up to their true potential when you never would have expected that, just because they were truly and unconditionally loved.

 

I love you all a lot! A lot a lot! I'm so happy and I'm so grateful to be on the Lord's errand, fighting on the front lines of the battle against Satan. I know that this work is real and it is absolutely necessary. Please tell all of your missionaries how grateful I am for them and for their service!

Love, Sister Amber Flower Ricks

One time we were having a missionary meeting at the church and the fire alarm went off. Hello firemen!

Me and JJ. We're meant to be buds.

Shaylee! From Arizona!!!!!

Transfers!!!

I'm on the coast! I've been transferred to an amazingly beautiful part of New Jersey. I am so excited for my new area and the new adventures ahead. I already miss my previous ward and the people that I have come to love. But I know that the Lord knows what is best for me and for those that I serve, so I trust that things will go really well here too.

It's weird being transferred to a new area on a mission. I heard it explained as many mini missions in one big mission. It was so hard to say goodbye to the people that I love and to pack up my life and move to a completely new, unfamiliar area. Doesn't it sound like the day I entered the airplane to leave on my mission?

My new companion is Sister Shirley Grover from Provo, UT and I adore her. She and I get along famously and we have a lot in common. She is 22 years old and is going home from her mission at the end of this transfer. I'm so excited to be able to get to work with her for the last 6 weeks of her mission. She has had some amazing experiences and I have a lot to learn from her.

We are in a branch down here, so there is a LOT of potential for growth and I'm excited to see what can happen down here. In the book by Clay Christensen called "The Power of Everyday Missionaries", there are many examples of branches and how they can see a lot of growth if the members unite in their purpose. I hope to see that unity happen and help them grow like they want it to.

I love you all and I plan on actually writing some "lessons" next week. Just wanted to update you all on the current changes. I'm loving where I am and I know that the Lord is extremely aware of me. I know that the cause for which I'm out here is a true cause and I'm grateful to be a part of it.

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

P.S. My new address, if you feel so inclined to write me is: 15 Romney Place upstairs   Cape May Court House, NJ 08210.  Yes, "upstairs" is a part of the address :)

The members in Cherry Hill tried to tie me up so I wouldn't leave! :)

What was I thinking? I didn't even mention that we had a baptism yesterday! It was amazing and the spirit was INCREDIBLE. I love this girl so much already!

Selfie with Ben! In the Constitution Center

Okay, I love this family. A lot.

Hanging out a Ben Franklin's house. No big deal.

Pledging an oath. To missionary work!