Sister Ricker

so i guess the highlight of this last week would have to have been saturday. we got to go to the temple because a family that i worked with in kennewick went through the temple for the first time. it was great! it was so good to see them go through the temple. we had worked with them the whole time i was there. they are also going to be sealed in a few weeks. WOOT! the gospel of Jesus Christ is awesome.

im so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who takes the time to work with us and allows us to change our lives completely around. without the power of repentance, none of us would be able to go anywhere. we would not be able to change and improve and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. we would be stuck, i hate feeling like im not progressing i would hate to be like that forever. because Jesus Christ loved each one of us enough to take upon Himself all of our sins, we are able to leave them behind and move past them. we are able to become better people, at any age, at any stage in life, we can always change. its amazing. and to watch people choose to turn towards Christ and choose to let go of their past and choose to let the gospel work miracles in their lives. few things can compare.

i hope that i can adequately practice what ive been teaching because its true. the power of the atonement is real and there is reason to hope. Heavenly Father can work miracles in our lives and He does.

hmm…what else….i dont really have anything else to say. im so grateful i got to be here to see them go through the temple, i love the temple.

sister ricker

hows it going all?

on saturday, brother brigham was baptized. he was the first convert baptism for the candy mountain ward. (the ward was formed in september). it was pretty exciting. brother brigham is the sweetest most sincere man…oh, and he is hilarious.

what else, we had like 33 visitors at church on sunday, between our two wards. it was invitation sunday, which means, across the whole mission, all the members were encouraged to reach out and invite their friends to come and see what our church services are like. i know what you’re thinking “visitors are always invited” and yes of course they are. but, it always helps to have a focus and a concerted effort. we pushed it hard. we even had the mayor come. it was great. my hope now is that they felt the Spirit that was there and have a desire to come back and feel it again. the talks were all centered around Jesus Christ all that He did for us, our Heavenly Father’s plan for us, the Book of Mormon, and of course, Jesus Christ and all that He continues to do for us. i was especially impressed with the youth, they really reached out and invited their friends.

i dont know what y’all want to hear each week. so if you’re still even reading these emails and you have any requests let me know. if not i will just continue to send out what i would like to keep for my own records.

love
sister ricker

well, im all settled in and practically starting over. meeting all new people, new wards, new area, new bed (which is amazing by the way)…its like being a greeny again with less nerves and a lot more confidence. its exciting though looking ahead. sister doty is my new companion she is great. we are getting along really well, it is going to be a good transfer. one of my focuses for the transfer is to be a fearless finder, talk to EVERYONE. which, should have been my focus all along but now it is for serious, we are going out of our way to talk to people and it is great. i love testifying of my Savior Jesus Christ!! we’ve thought about sprinting to talk to people in the distance but these shoes really arent made for jogging. we have actually set several return appointments with people we have run into on the streets, and that has never happened to me before this area.

hmmm…what else. oh i almost got eaten by a horse the other day. we were just walking along doing out sister missionary thing and we passed by a pasture and this horse just jogged up and threw its huge head over the fence on to my shoulder and he licked my neck. it scared me a little (or a lot but whatever). so we kept walking and he would let us get a few feet away then he would jog up to us right when i was least expecting it and he would throw his head at me. my companion jumped in to the street but i would rather be hit by a horse head than a car so i took my chances and stook to the sidewalk. he did it several times and it made me jump each time. it was pretty entertaining.

well ill talk to y’all later…how bout next tuesday?

love ya’
sister sarah ricker