Short Today

Sorry everyone, I'm keeping it really short this week. Things are
going really well out here in Cape May and Sister White and I are
working hard and loving being missionaries. I love this Church and I'm
so grateful to be it's representative for a year and a half. It is
quite a responsibility, but also quite a privilege and blessing! If
y're having a hard time with life right now, read "However Long and
Hard the Road." You can find it on lds.org. It's an amazing talk!

I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooove you all!

Love, sister Amber Ricks

Happy Spring!

Let me tell you, Spring time on the East coast is a beautiful thing!
It is so fun to watch the trees and other plants come back to life
after a long, dark, cold winter. How perfect was it that Joseph Smith
had his vision of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the Spring. That
vision lead to the restoration of the gospel, bringing the world back
to life, out of the long, dark, cold years without a prophet to lead
God's people.

I love being a missionary. I love helping people come out of their own
long darkness and coming to life with the gospel. There is nothing
more rewarding than being a part of that process. The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is not just another religion. It is
literally God's kingdom on earth. How can we not invite the people
that we love to be a part of God's kingdom?

I love being a missionary because my eyes have finally been opened and
I have learned to see what sharing the gospel is all about and what
being a missionary really means. Just as I talked about last time, it
is all about love. Love is the driving force of everything in the
gospel and in God's plan of happiness. Christ loves us, so He suffered
for us. He loves us so He overcame death. He loves us so He walks by
our side when we are struggling. He loves us so He taught us the way
back to God. Charity never faileth, remember? Even if you fall short
and don't know what to say or how to help, if you just love pekoe, you
can't fail. What a beautiful promise!

I know that I can be with my family forever because Jesus loves me and
made it possible!
I love you all so much!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

P.S. Do family history! Especially you youth! You will be protected
from Satan if you do!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Did you all see the new video put out by the church? If not, check out
motherhood.mormon.org. The Church is so cool and has the best videos!
Anyway, Happy Mother's Day! Thanks to every woman who has ever played
a mother-role in my life! It was so great to be able to talk with my
family yesterday. What a blessing modern technology is! All we need to
do is use it for the good that it can be used for. Like sharing the
gospel! :D
I'm sorry I don't have any deep philosophical thoughts for today, but
know that I love you all and I appreciate your love and prayers. I'm
so grateful for the righteous influences that I have in my life and
the person that I am becoming because of it. Do something today to
show Heavenly Father how much you love Him!
Love, Sister Amber Ricks

All you need is love, love! Love is all you need!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I hope you all went out to the store
today and bought the makings for some homemade tacos to celebrate,
because we sure did! Today's letter is mostly about love and a little
bit about tacos. Because who doesn't love tacos?

The last 6 weeks have brought the repeating theme of love and how
powerful it can be. This week, as we worked with a member that has not
been to church in probably 30 years, a particular phrase continued to
run through my mind: "Just love her back to Me." Quite often when we
start working with a member who has not been to church in a while, we
jump in to reteach the missionary lessons just as we would to an
investigator. But with this particular member, it has been made very
clear that she just needs to be loved. She needs to learn what it is
to feel loved in an unconditional way. And doing just that has brought
her leaps and bounds closer to God than she has been in a very, very
long time. It has lead me to realize how important it is for a person
to feel loved and appreciated and cared about. Which helped me realize
that that is all that missionary work is! It is loving someone enough
to show them a better way, the best way, of life.
We did not just get right into this member's home and start teaching
her about Heavenly Father. We loved her first. And as we showed her
genuine love, she has become ready to learn about Heavenly Father and
the blessings of the gospel. It is a beautiful thing to be a part of.
So go out and just love people. Love them enough to show them the best
way of life. It's an incredible way to live :)

I sure love you all and I hope that each of you know that you are a
beautiful son or daughter of God who loves you too!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks