Tu vida puede cambiar- Week 54

Hello friends and family! I hope all is going well. Its been a crazy couple transfers!!! This last one went by super fast. I guess that this is how the rest of the mission is going to go and the rest of life? Pretty exciting! Life is good. 

As you all know I have been serving in Green Bay for the last couple months. I've watched it change so much! When I got we were opening up the area so our area book had nobody in it, didn't know any of the members or even any missionaries, no lessons scheduled, no potentials no nothing. For the last 11 weeks(1 week short of 2 transfers which is how long I've been in Green Bay) we have been able to find so many people and set so many return appointments that we almost never had any down time and we were always busy! It has definitely been so amazing to see how hard work can produce so much success. I've learned a lot here but I'll now be going down to Kenosha where I will be companions with Elder McConkie who was one of my first Zone Leaders in the mission! I'll be serving in an English area but basically my whole zone is full with Spanish missionaries so I'm super excited for that! 

We were almost able to set a guy named Luis on baptismal date too! Pretty amazing. We invited him to be baptized after only meeting him for about 20 minutes and invited him to pray about the date of April 18th. 

Since I have been here in Green Bay I have really wanted to learn this little instrument called the guitar but I couldn't find one anywhere! Buuuuuut... I finally found one this week! So, every morning and every night I've been playing it and I love it! It really hurts my fingers but it makes my soul glad. I've already learned some pretty easy songs too! It's amazing that if you put your mind to something you can really get good at/improve yourself really quickly! 

I was reading all of the quotes in the back of Chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel from the prophets about missionary work and it was so awesome and made me want to do more missionary work! 

-President David O. McKay (1951–1970)

“Every member … a missionary!” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1959, 122).

“True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work” (Gospel Ideals [1954], 129).

-President Howard W. Hunter (1994–1995)

“What does the Atonement [of Jesus Christ] have to do with missionary work? Any time we experience the blessings of [the Savior’s] Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of [others]. … A great indicator of one’s personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Howard W. Hunter [2015], 127–28).

-President Thomas S. Monson (2008–2018)

“Remember that this work is not yours and mine alone. It is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Remember that the Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it” (“To Learn, to Do, to Be,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2008, 62).

-President Russell M. Nelson (2018–present)

“The Lord’s message is for everyone. This is a global work. … The message is to invite all God’s children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior and enjoy the blessings of the temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life. And that will bring hope, help, and lift to all people” (“President Nelson Bolsters Faith from London, First Stop on Global Tour,” Church News, Apr. 13, 2018, lds.org/church/news/president-nelson-bolsters-faith-from-london-first-stop-on-global-tour).

Here is a couple of my favorite quotes. I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the opportunity we ALL have to share this beautiful message of our Savior Jesus Christ. Always strive to be Christlike examples for those in your life. Seek and pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with everyone! Thanks for your great examples.

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love, 

Elder T. Ricks