Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

 This church is incredible and completely filled with imperfect
people! Which, to me, is an absolute relief because I'm a part of it!
This morning I was studying President Uchtdorf's talk "Come, Join with
Us", and he explains why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is for everyone.

 I love this quote of his: "I suppose the Church would be perfect only
if it were run by perfect beings. God is perfect, and His doctrine is
pure. But He works through us--His imperfect children--and imperfect
people make mistakes."

Isn't that terribly comforting to know that this church that we are
apart of allows imperfect people to be a part of it? I am so grateful
for that because I wouldn't stand a chance of being accepted if the
standard was immediate perfection. I'm also grateful that despite my
imperfections and weaknesses, I am allowed to go around and share my
testimony to complete strangers and represent this church. What a
forgiving and loving doctrine. But the most beautiful part of it all
is that although the Lord understands our faults, He still desires
that we work towards improvement. The ultimate goal is perfection, but
in the mean time, all that is expected of us is an effort to improve.

I have, once again, had many of my weaknesses made apparent to me. And
yet I have come to be grateful for the chance to recognize what I can
work on next to become a little more like Christ. Which also helps me
to forgive others for their mistakes on their path to becoming more
like Christ. I am so grateful for this gospel and for the Atonement!

I love you all so much and I hope you are all enjoying your journey of
becoming more like Christ! Happy Thanksgiving this week!

Love, Sister Ricks

Good quote from this week:
"My mom has a lot of fish in her fish tank." -me
"Did you get any of them neutered?" -9 year old boy

I made a pupusa!

Can you guess which one is mine? 

Shameless plug to get more letters :)

Hola! Yo Hablo Espanol!

Alright. I don't know how life could get any better. I'm working in
Souderton, PA and it is filled with Latin Americans. Basically I get
to speak Spanish every day and eat Latin food! My new companion's name
is Sister Ashlyn Clark and I adore her! She is so much fun to work
with and she makes really good jokes.

It was super hard to say goodbye to everyone in my last area because
they have become even more of my family that I want with me forever.
But I already love the people here and I am excited to get to know
them all. There is a recent convert, Sofia, who is 13 and we have
taught her twice already. After the first time of meeting her and her
sister and mom, I told them that I loved them. The next time we were
there Sofia asked, "why do missionaries always say they love you right
after they just met you?" I thought about that for a few minutes and
was worried that maybe I had been ingenuine. But then I realized that
a beautiful experience that happens to missionaries is that when we
meet people and just get to know them a little bit, we become filled
with God's love for them. So for the first little bit, we are just
feeling God's love for His child. Then, as we continue to serve them
and get to know them, our own love for them develops. How neat is
that! So when a missionary tells you they love you as soon as they
meet you, it is really God's love for you they are feeling!

Okay, this whole Sister Training Leader thing is weird because now I
am not only concerned with the work in my own area and with my
companion, but a new aspect has been introduced. Now I am concerned
with the other sisters and how they are doing as missionaries. I was
not excited to get the calling, but as I have prayed daily to love my
calling and love the sisters that I serve, my heart has been softened.
How beautiful that Heavenly Father can soften our heart even when we
can't. All we have to do is to be willing to ask Him for it and then
let Him change us.

Life is so good and Heavenly Father wants us to succeed and be happy
and to grow! That's why we came here to earth, to stretch and change
and be better. So why be stubborn and stay the same? That's a lesson I
am still learning every day, but I am grateful for who I have become
so far with His help. I love this work! And I love you alllllllll!

Love, Sister Amber Flower Ricks

PS my new address is 199 W Vine St. #3 Hatfield, PA 19440. :)

Elle!

Julianne and Morgan

Salif!

Sister Bettilyon and Adriana

I love this family so much! 

First snow came this week :(

"And they lived after the manner of happiness"

It's been one of those really bitter-sweet weeks because I found out
that I am being transferred :/ If I had never come out on my mission,
I would have had no idea what I was missing out on. But now that I'm
here and I've experienced it, I would never give up this experience
for anything. I especially would never give up the friendships that I
have developed.
In 2 Nephi 5, Nephi explains that he and his people "lived after the
manner of happiness" as they worked hard and kept the commandments and
loved each other. This was despite the fact that his brothers wanted
to kill him- which is kind of a rough situation, I would say.
So my point is, despite the difficulties that I experience as a
full-time missionary, I'm living after the manner of happiness because
of the people I get to serve and love. This is the greatest work!

In other news, I'm being transferred tomorrow :( My heart is a little
broken leaving this area and leaving my companion, but I'm excited to
serve and love even more people! Also, President asked me to be a
Sister Training Leader. I think Heavenly Father knows that I don't
like exchanges, so He gave me a calling that makes me do exchanges
every week. Haha there's no such thing as getting comfortable around
here.

A few highlights of the week:
1. A man from another country stopped us in the middle of a store and
said- "They let girls do this now?! Can I take your picture?" He
didn't tell us anything else, took our picture and walked away. We're
a little nervous about where that picture is going to end up...
2. Sister Bettilyon and I met up with Donald from my first area, who I
taught and he was baptized a year ago. It was so great to catch up
with him, and I will be going to the Washington DC temple in a few
weeks with him to get his endowments out.
3. Our family ward had the primary program and I was reminded that
that is my favorite Sunday of the year. It was especially great
because a little 5 year old boy who has a crush on me was flashing
hearts at me during the entire program. Worth it.

I love you all! I love this gospel and this church and our prophets
and leaders. Knowledge is power! I have learned SO much over the last
few months and what I've realized is that we have so much knowledge
and information at our finger tips, we just need to put forth a little
effort and seek it out! Write me and tell me about your studies! I'll
do the same for you :)

Love, Sister Amber Flower Ricks

Number Your Days

It's November already!! How the heck did that happen?!

It's been a good lesson-learning week! Here are some of them:

1. Don't do a Jillian Michaels work out DVD if you haven't been
running in a few months, you'll regret it for days.
2. If you are upset and can't feel the spirit, you are wrong. No matter what.
3. If a 3 year old gives you one of her drawings, you're in. You did
something right!
4. When trying to bribe someone to not be mad about your employee
breaking their car, bring Philly Pretzel Factory pretzels and you'll
be forgiven. (Story: the car shop dented our car and didn't tell us,
so our mission car coordinator had to talk to the big guy of the
company. The big guy brought us all soft pretzels :) )
5. When looking to give away free food, check Craig's List. You'll
possibly find a woman looking for Christmas gifts for her son who will
take the free food too. And then maybe you'll hang out with the lady
and her son and her mom and go on a boat ride and out to dinner. A
member told us about this recent experience.....
6. Pray for unity, and if your heart is soft, you'll receive it.
7. The Atonement is not just for sinners! It is to help us change the
very person that we are. It is silly to ever say, "that's just how I
am," because that is denying that the Atonement can change us. I have
been changed and I am so eternally grateful!
8. “the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views,
and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his
life and lost every desire for sin” -Joseph Smith. In other words, the
more clearly we see our weaknesses and desire them to change, the
closer we are coming to our Savior.
9. The most INTERESTING people try to talk to you if you have "Jesus
Christ" on your name tag. Ask me for some good stories!
10. Church History in the Fullness of Times Institute student manual
is the COOLEST THING!

And for some good quotes,
"God is like butterscotch! Cause butterscotch is my favorite!"
"I bought some church clothes! I couldn't quit smoking without getting
church clothes first!"

I love you all! I love the Lord! I love learning and the more I learn,
the more I love this gospel and my Savior. Learn all the time! Never
quit learning and never think that you know enough!

Love, Sister Amber Ricks

You Can Bet Your Bottom Dollar

I don't know why I got out the habit of writing lists for my
letters... Let's try it again today. Some things I learned this week:

1. When you get in a car accident by accidentally hitting another car,
don't be afraid to give them a pass along card while the police office
is filling out his report. The guy could be really nice and appreciate
the gesture!
2. The Bible Dictionary seriously teaches the coolest things! Like
what the word Deuteronomy means and stuff.
3. When cleaning a house that has not been lived in for 8 months, help
the person realize that it is better to just throw away at least half
of the 10,000 containers in the cupboards.
4. I have barely tapped on how to use my agency to the full extent.
There is sooo much that I unwittingly blame on others or my
circumstances just because I don't know how to fully use my agency.
Like how I can choose to not feel sad or upset but instead choose to
be happy and grateful and patient.
5. Companionship inventory is the coolest/ healthiest thing for a
relationship/ friendship/ companionship. Do you know what it is? It is
something we do every week as missionaries and I want to do it with my
future husband. You talk about your individual and combined strengths
and weaknesses and what you can do individually and as a companionship
to improve. I love it!
6. Tender mercies happen on a daily basis! If I don't notice any, it
is because I am not looking for them. For example: a tender mercy of
this week was running into Sister Hyatt at the mission office.
7. Understanding why we would want the Holy Ghost as a constant
companion and realizing that he leaves us if we make poor choices is a
big motivation for people to choose the right. I hope to always
remember that when making choices.
8. "Wawa's are like Mormon churches in Utah." -Sister Bettilyon.
They're on basically every corner out here. Do you know what Wawa is?
Look it up! It's only the greatest invention in the world. Better than
QT.

Well, that's all folks. Life is good is in Pennsylvania! I love being
out here and serving the Lord!

Love, Sister Ricks