Milwaukee- Week 79

 Hello everyone!! I hope everything is going well for all of you and that you've had an amazing week.

The Hermana that I came out with went home on Thursday! It's crazy all the Sisters I came out with are already going home!

Life has honestly been so fun. I got my new area! I'm in the Milwaukee YSA ward woth Elder Hansen and it's so much fun! The ward is so missionary minded and is so helpful with so much stuff. There is also a lot of people who speak Spanish so it's been a blast so far! The bishop is the wife to one of the office missionaries we have and a couple weeks ago before I was in the ward they gave a devotional over zoom! So it's fun to be in his ward now.

We had a baptism on Saturday! Ravi got baptized. He is sooo funny. The guy he chose to baptize him had never baptized anyone, he is kinda a bigger guy, but they had to try 5 times! It was a cool experience to be apart of though because there is a certain way to do everything and 'there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.' After the baptism Ravi said "I chose him because I didnt want him to drop me because he was so big but I chose wrong." But he was so so happy to get baptized and was able to bear his testimony afterwards!

We made a goal to do a roleplay every single day and it has actually been pretty fun! I've enjoyed it. 

As I have been studying this morning, personal revelation and progression kept coming to my mind. As we seek to have the Holy Ghost as our constant companion we will be led to do things that the Lord would have us do. 

In the talk An Especially Noble Calling from the April 2020 General Conference, Joy D. Jones says "The Lord’s loving influence through the Holy Ghost helps us know His priority for our progression. Heeding personal revelation leads to personal progression."

I invite you to find a way to seek to have the Holy Ghost more in your life through studies and prayer. I promise as you do so you will receive guidance through every aspect of your life. 

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love, 

Elder T. Ricks 

Increíble- Week 78

 Hola a todos! Thanks for all the birthday presents and wishes! I sure love you all! I was able to go to a baptism this last week who Hermana Kono and her companion Hermana Yorgeson were working with and it was soo awesome! I'm grateful for the power and authority God has given us to make eternal covenants!

We just heard that both me and my companion, Elder Cook, will be transfered! Pretty crazy! He will be going up to Green Bay! And I will be going to Milwaukee and I will be companions with Elder Hansen who is from Sugar City! I've been able to go on a couple exchanges with him and I'm looking forward to getting to serve with him and learn from him! 

A lot of the Hermanas I came out with are now home or going home this next week! Pretty crazy and I'm so glad that I have another 6 months to serve the people here and my Heavenly Father!

I have been doing a lot of studies on Matthew 16 & 17 and want to invite all of you to read Matthew 16:13-18 & Matthew 17:1-13 about revelation and to think about the revelation that you have been trusted with and how you react to it. Personal revelation is such an incredible thing and as we respond to the revelation we recieve the Lord will bless us with even more and we will recieve true happiness and joy when we follow through with revelation given to us from our Heavenly Father.

I love you all! Hope all is going well.

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love, 

Elder T. Ricks

 

Miracles-Week 77

 Hey everyone I hope you have all had an amazing week! I love being a missionary and serving the Lord!

I love my family and am grateful for the knowledge we have that families can be together forever. There are so many gospel truths that sometimes I take for granted but I truly am so grateful that we have a loving Heavenly Father:) 

I just want to invite you all to start reading the Book of Mormon every single day if you haven't been doing so. There is so many blessings and miracles that come from it. I know the Book of Mormon is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. Through Him and only Him can we have true peace. Joseph Smith restored the true Gospel. We are spiritual beings and need to feed our spirits by feasting upon the words that He has given us! I love you all. 

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love,

Elder T. Ricks

 

My daddd- Week 76

 Hey everyone! It's my dads birthday this next week! August 12 is the big day! He has been the best example of love, support, patience, service and just the best dad in the world! Now he is a grandpa! I love you dad!

This week we had MLC which was so great, I had interviews with the President and we had a meeting with the zone called Combined District Council where we talked about what we can do better! One of the Hermanas gave an aweaome training on having spiritual confidence! Are you spiritually confident? How could you become more spiritually confident? 

We have seen so many miracles this week! I love being a missionary and it's so crazy how fast time goes by! 

I liked this verse in Matthew during my studies. "He that is not with me is against me," (Matthew 12:30). "If we do not sustain and uphold and support the kingdom of God in all things..." by doing the small things the Lord has asked us to like praying, scripture study, church, service, love others and more "...we are thereby aiding a cause other than the Lord’s," (Bruce R. McConkie). I invite you to think about how you can aid the great cause of the Lord to help "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man," (Moses 1:39). It will help you be happy in any circumstance you are in! I love you all! God bless you

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love,

Elder T. Ricks 

Matthew 10:39- Week 75

 Hey everyone! Hope all is going well. We have been super busy trying to find people to baptize! We have put a huge emphasis on that so we are hoping to have at least 1 baptism this month! 

I was able to reunite with my Green Bay Spanish squad at Zone Conference from the beginning of this year!!(I'm sure you can tell which picture was taken when) Hermana Wadley is serving in Milwaukee right now (1 zone away from me) I've gotten to serve around/with Elder Lacey (in my zone) for 7 out of the last 9 months and I have gotten to serve around Hermana Kono (in my zone) for 9 months and it was so awesome to get to be all together again:)

Congratulations to Braeden and Shay who had their baby girl Hadlee:) she is so so cute and she's so lucky to have such great parents:) 

Also congrats to my cousin Kat who got married this last week as well! It's so crazy how old everyone is getting in the fam😂 

I love you all!!! Keep on following God! Do what He says, it always turns out better:) I recently started a new Doctrine and Covenants study which I have loved so far and I read D&C Section 4 about the work of the Lord. I love how in verse 2 it says 'if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work,' talking about members, missionaries and everyone! And then I loved how it listed off certain qualities that as you are in the work of the Lord that qualify you for the work such as: 

faith, hope, charity and love, an eye single to the glory of God, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, and diligence. 

As you think about your life think about if you have desires to serve God! If the answer is yes look at the attributes that qualify yourself to the work and pick a couple that you can work on to help with the work of the Lord! All of these are obtained only through Christ so always make sure to 'ask, and ... knock' and if you do that 'ye shall receive ... and it shall be opened unto you.' I know the church is true! I know this is the Lord's church and as you strive to do His work you will be happy. 

DO GOOD, BE GOOD

Love,

Elder T. Ricks