Elder Ricks enjoying some golf on Pday today along with some beautiful weather!
This is what we sent him in his 100 day package! He loved getting all your notes! Thank you
Hello,
Well, it was an awfully big and incredibly
busy week!
Sooo, I guess 100 days came and went this
last week!-My amazing Mom, made a package celebrating this and it was so
creative and fun! I really loved everything inside and am so grateful for all
of the letters inside, thanks to all who participated in helping my mom!
Monday night, a member hosted a going away
party for Elder Balch and about 60 families, yes, families came. It was crazy!
About 65 vehicles parked on the lawn, and about 140 people inside. It was
amazing! And there were about 8 investigators and lots of less-actives who came
also so it was a tremendously productive and successful missionary night!!
Tuesday night, Elder Balch's last night
with me, we were able to attend the temple to support a young man who has
received his mission call and went to receive his endowment. It was such an
incredible, spiritual night and I am so grateful I was able to go for him and
with my dear friend Elder Balch.
Wednesday was transfers!!! Elder Balch is
home now and doing so great which is thrilling to me and makes me so happy!!!
He really became one of my best friends and I am so excited to continue my
friendship with him! And my new companion, Elder Hilton, is amazing!!! We are
going to have such a good time and do so many great things together in Edmond
3rd!
He came out at the same time as me, 3
months ago, and we are both just loving the mission and working hard! Together,
in just 4 short days, we have already taught about 12 lessons and found new
investigators and are just having a lot of fun and a lot of success!!
He is from Cali and has graduated from BYUI
and is a programmer! He is really smart and very analytical and we have so many
similar ideas about how we can be efficient and plan to be the most successful
so things are really going great! We also made a fun connection, he is a
descendant of Levi Savage from 17 Miracles and I am a descendant of Thomas E.
Ricks who is also in 17 miracles and my grandpa actually came to save his
grandpa. How fun is that?! They were probably best friends and now they are up
there nudging each other and pointing, smiling about all the great things they
got to do together and now their descendants are able to be together and do the
same thing!! hahah
Friday we had district meeting and
afterwards we went to Pizza Hut for pizza and rootbeer because that was the
tradition in my family and it was so fun! We paid with a gift card my mom sent
and also set the table in Pizza Hut with a Halloween tablecloth and decorations
from that package. It was really fun and people already think we are a peculiar
people so I can't imagine what they thought when four young men are sitting in
suits at Pizza Hut with all these fun decorations on the table. It was a good
time!:)
We had our ward Trunk or Treat party Friday
night but it was pouring rain all day long so we had it inside! Elder Hilton
and I were chili judges and I can't say that it was a blessing or a curse. It
tasted so great but we paid for it later! It was so fun to be there and to meet
new people that members had invited and to just be surrounded by all these
people I have come to love and have such great relationships with! It was a
wonderful missionary opportunity to visit with new potential investigators and
to see less and inn-actives there.
Saturday we went on exchanges because Elder
Hilton had a baptism he went back to Del City
(where he was last serving) and I was able
to stay and attend the baptism of an 8 year old boy in our ward. The service
was so spiritual and powerful. His mom has been an investigator for 14 years
and we are currently working with her and the whole thing was really just
beautiful from the music to the talks to the very saving ordinance (baptism)
and then receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and she said the closing prayer.
It was a great morning to say the least!:)
Saturday night we went to a member's home
because we couldn't be out passed 6:00 due to Halloween and all the things that
could happen. So we passed out candy with pass-along cards to every child and
played a game with them. It was so fun and there was one boy who pulled out the
pass-along card which was a picture of Jesus Christ and the Articles of Faith
on the back and he declared "Oh I love these!!!" He was not a member but
just loved to see pictures of our Savior and Redeemer and it was really sweet
and powerful.
The work is pushing on and I am loving
every bit of it!!!
Like I said, we have been able to teach a
lot and have felt the Spirit so strong as we are able to declare simple truths
of power that are so familiar to the soul. I wish you could all come and be apart of or see some of
these lessons, they are so powerful, it is the greatest feeling!
As you can tell, the weeks are always busy!
We do a lot and are seeing so many miracles and fruits from our labors.
Heavenly Father blesses you when you do what He asks and put your trust in
Him!
I love to hear from you and even though I
am not always giving a great response, I love every word and every detail and
soak it all in. I just don't have the time to send a big long response like I
would like. But I do love you and appreciate you and hope to keep hearing from
you all! Thanks again to my beautiful, wonderful Mother and all those that
helped her.:)
Keep the faith,
Elder Ricks
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