These past 18 months have been AMAZING! I have never had such a privilege to help guide God's children back to Him.

I'M GOING TO DIE WHEN I GET HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHA IT LOOKS SO COLD! It got down to 60 degrees and I was FREEZING last week... uh oh! I've been hearing about the storm. Every time I tell someone that I'm going back home to Seattle they are like "ooooooooooooooooh no it is SUPER stormy back there" haha...so it will be an adventure! I hope I can get to my warm clothes again. I have definitely gotten used to the heat...but I still prefer to be cold. I'm actually pretty excited for that! It should be pretty warm when you are here Mom in the 70s or 80s. Our investigator is still on for her baptism :) I'm SO excited for her. Maybe you can play the piano at the baptism? haha. She has really gotten into the scriptures this week. She has been marking them and understanding them more as she goes. I've definitely seen the change in her. She is more happy and calm. I love it! We had a miracle on Sunday! A former investigator randomly called us up Sunday morning. He told us he asked for work off to come to church...and asked us what time it started. HE CAME! AND LOVED IT! The coolest thing was to see Javier, a recent convert, helping him and showing him where everything was. The Segoviano family is doing AWESOME! Angel stayed like 20 minutes after church so she could get her membership number to start working on her family history. They are SO excited to go to the temple. Soooooooooooo I was sad for most of the week because I'm not going to be a full time missionary anymore... but then I asked God "do you really want me to go?" and He said yes... and ever since then I have been okay and actually really excited to see you all and for the adventures to come. I know it is going to be a hard transition but just like He helped me transition to being a missionary... God will help me transition to a regular person schedule again. These past 18 months have been AMAZING! I have never had such a privilege to help guide God's children back to Him. I love Heavenly Father for giving me this opportunity. I have never been happier. Thank you for supporting me throughout it all! SEEEEEEEEEEEE YA SOON MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED FOR OUR SUR TEJAS ADVENTURA!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 HERMANA BRICKER

I'M WORKING HARD UNTIL THE END!

Wooooooooooooooow!!!!! That is so cool that it snowed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully there is some left for me when I get home :) You won't find any of that here. Dad lost 20 pounds?! That is awesome!!!!!!!!! I'm glad he is feeling better. I was just telling my companion that I need to change some things too...because my body is craving some good exercise and less fatty foods. When I'm home I'll have more control over what I eat :) Oh but I don't want to go, but I do! We have seen soooooooooo many miracles this week and have met some really cool people. I want to see them be able to progress... but I know also that God has more work for me in-store at home and I am really, really excited to see all of you. You're going to be my companion okay Mom? We're going to go and strengthen all those recent converts :) So find some scriptures in el Libro de Mormon que le gustan! This week was CRAZY. It was full of miracles and set-backs. One of our investigators didn't get baptized for algunas razones... but we are still working with her, she just needs a little more time. I was really sad but now I'm over it because what is important is that she makes it to that step someday and we tried our best! The other investigator needs to learn a little bit more so she actually might get baptized on the 29th...so you can go :) Everyone is SO excited to meet you!!!!! This other lady we've been working with went from "I just can't accept the Book of Mormon" to "WOW everything makes sense." It was awesome to see her change. She is going to be one of the strongest members. Welp time is up but I LOVE YOU AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T WORRY THIS WEEK IS GOING TO BE THE BEST WEEK EVER!!!! I'M WORKING HARD UNTIL THE END! LA VIDA ES BUENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE GOING TO BE THE BEST YET!!!!!!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is good to hear about Dad. Yes he is in my prayers. I'm glad that he is looking and feeling better. Tell him next time we go to Costco - we'll both be getting the Caesar salads :) Wow...it sounds like your life is going to be CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Those are the days that go by the fastest - when you have so many things to do. I'm excited that you can have a little break to come down here :) and guess what? Yep it is still hot. The other day I was sweating again because it was back up to 80. Christian and Edisson (just got baptized in December) were going to make me tamales because I was leaving...but when they found out you were coming they were like "hey we'll wait for your Mom!" So that Wednesday night we'll have some official tamales :) Everyone is excited to meet you. They all want to know if you were just as laid back as I was and I told them "yup!" So South Padre Island was something I wanted to see too! We should go out by Brownsville because I know the way more out there... I'm just working away trying to make sure everything is in order before I leave. I want to make sure the area is in AWESOME shape for the next missionary that comes in. One of our investigators is excited for her baptism. She just finished 30 pages in the Book of Mormon. We had her study the Word of Wisdom and Chastity before our lesson.. and she was like "No worries, I'm already living those commandments!" Perfect! I just wish her parents would come to church too :( Our other investigator is doing great! We were really worried about her because every appointment fell through this week because of work/errands. But we went by Saturday night and she is still really excited and had bought her daughter a new dress for church. We made a plan to be able to teach her this upcoming week so she can be ready for the 22nd! I'm so excited. What a better way to end my mission than to see her get baptized my last Sunday! LA VIDA ES BUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for all your prayers and support! THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS ARE GOING TO BE THE BEST YET!!!!!! LOVE YA! p.s. ME ENCANTO TU ESPANOL MAMA!!!!!!!!!

The Russell Family fed me a gluten-free Christmas Dinner

Beautiful Sunrise while Running this Week

Hermanas eating gingerbread Mom sent

The Bishop and his wife gave us personalized towels for Christmas

Getting Ready to Open our Christmas Presents

3 WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS. I can't believe it.

3 WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKS. I can't believe it. You can ask Sister Giles - I have been freaking out! I'm grateful you will be there to help me ease the transition. Thanks to you I get to go see everyone and say goodbye before I leave. Also, everyone here is soooooooooo excited to meet you :) I'm working hard here with Sister Giles. Our one investigator is doing good and prayed this week about Joseph Smith and got her answer that he was a prophet of God. She is in 1 Nephi 7 right now and excited for her baptism soon. The other investigator is doing awesome. She came to church for the first time and liked it... despite one of the craziest gospel principles class ever... haha My time is up but I hope you like the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CUIDENSE MUCHO!

"A good weird . . . I think that was the Holy Ghost."

Welp... long time no talk verdad? haha but yeah it was good to talk with you all on the phone! How is Chelsea doing?! Say hello to everyone for me!!! Is Chelsea back there at home? Wow that is crazy that Jon hit a deer. I'm glad he is okay! Here is part of an update I gave to President Trayner about the people we are teaching: One of our investigators is reading a chapter per day in the Book of Mormon and I know that is helping her testimony grow tremendously. We met a young single mom who wants to change her life so her kids can be proud of who she is. Last night she knelt down and said her first prayer out loud. She asked God for help and guidance in her life. She asked if she should be baptized January 22nd. Afterwards we asked her how she felt. She said "Good...a little weird." We asked her "A good weird or a bad weird haha?" "A good weird... I think that was the Holy Ghost." She received her answer from God that she needs to make this step. I know that because of the revelation that she received through prayer, that she is going to press forward and be baptized. ... then Christmas night we went over to the Russell's to eat dinner. It was sooooooooooooooooooo yummy!!!! They even bought gluten free dessert just for me :) QUE SIMPATICO. Okay I'm going to send some pics :) Some are from Christmas eve when we went to eat at Obispo Torres' house. Tamales and Pasole!!!! Yum yum and empenadas for dessert. They gave us missionaries towels with our names engraved (...haha not engraved, but you know what I mean). It was super nice of them.

This is the first time I've got to see every member in the family be baptized. What a special experience the Lord gave me.

ME TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I AM EXCITED TO TALK TO YOU ALL AGAIN! I can't believe it has already been a year since last Christmas...fastest year EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay I'm planning on calling at 4pm my time...which I think is 2pm your time? I'll call Sarah's house phone. What?! I didn't know Jay was going to Brazil? That is cool! What an adventure he has ahead of him. That is very very exciting about Chris and Debbie! But I'm sad they are moving to Hawaii. Por que? I thought they were coming back to Washington?? Okay so my other "daughter" as they call it in the mission lingo is Sister Giles. She is from Bountiful Utah :) She is super cute and has a lot of great ideas about the work. She was able to experience a good ray of miracles/disappointments this week. I felt bad because by now, I think I've pretty much adjusted to things falling apart all the time haha so this week wasn't as difficult for me as it was for her. She is such a trooper though and is excited for this next week and all the miracles we are going to see. HUGE MIRACLE THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JAVIER GOT BAPTIZED FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the first time I've got to see every member in the family be baptized. What a special experience the Lord gave me. So we hadn't seen him ALL week because he was working so much. On Saturday we called and they couldn't meet with us because it was the only time for them to go buy groceries (que bueno que entienden la importancia del dia de reposo!). I was medio freaking out inside because I wanted to follow up with how he was doing on the Word of Wisdom because the baptism was the next day... so we had to wait until Sunday morning for church. We called and no one picked up... church was already 15 minutes into the meeting and they weren't there. BUT then Javier showed up on his own with the girls. YES! I talked to him afterwards and asked him if he "stayed strong" this week. He shook his head and said "Sister it has been a hard week, I have had to work A LOT. I've been so tired." I thought "oohhh no... he shook his head, that isn't good." But then I asked him specifically "have you smoked or drank?" "Oh Sister of course not, I CAN'T! I have to stay clean and strong." YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! He did it! Later that evening he got baptized and it was one of the most spiritual/powerful I've witnessed. Sonja (his daughter that just got baptized in October) gave the talk on Baptism. She talked about what it meant to her and how she was happy because her dad getting baptized is how they are going to go to the Temple in a year. I look over and there are tears streaming down his face. I've never seen him cry - he is very much a macho man kind of guy...but there he was crying because the spirit was so strong. It was beautiful and a blessing to be a part of. Some random homeless man I invited to come to church came too! That was fun :) Thank you soooooooooooo much for everything. I love you and will talk to you Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sister Bricker

Claudia's Baptism

I'M TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

HAHAHA I can just imagine Anna and Andrew with the deer!  That is awesome!  I love the Bricker Christmas party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I love how Vicki always has the goodie bags afterwards stuffed with cool/yummy things :)  It looks pretty cold there!!!!!  That is cool that Rogelio and Steve's girlfriend came too.  I wish I could've met Rogelio!!!!  Is anyone new scheduled to come in?  Yay for decorating!  We decorated too!  I should have taken pictures.

Okay so this week I got some exciting news.  I'M TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I'M SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!  That is what I wanted was to train this last transfer so I could just pass down everything I've learned.  Tomorrow we have transfers and I get to go pick her up :)  I'm also excited to stay here in Mission.  I'm sad to say goodbye to Sister Cortes, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVED working with her...but it's not too bad because I'll see her every Monday. 

Other exciting news!  Claudia got BAPTIZED yesterday!  The Lord has really been blessing us to find the prepared people.  I have loved working with Claudia because she has just guided her own conversion with the spirit.  We asked her when she thought that God wanted her to be baptized... she told us "before the end of the year" and picked a date and prayed about it.  She also told us of when she gained her testimony - she was pondering on everything that we had taught her, she read the 13 Articles of Faith and she said it just hit her "I believe in all these things.  It makes sense.  I know it is true."  She was so smiley and a lot of her family were there to support her.  Obispo Torres baptized her.

MORE exciting news!  Javier said he wants to get baptized the 18th (aka this weekend!) Orale!  Andale!  The field is white already to harvest!

I know that the Lord's hand is in this work.  He loves us soooooooooo much. 

Thanks for the alpaca scarf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That sounds like it will be AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It has been pretty cold lately.  Sister Cortes and I have been walking a lot because we don't have miles... so we walked from our appointment to the church and she was FREEZING - especially her hands because she doesn't have gloves.

I'm trying to come up with something I can send you all for Christmas... but it will probably be something made with love haha because I don't have money...it will be one of these gifts this year:

 

"We all enjoy giving and receiving presents. But there is a difference  between presents and gifts. The true gifts may be part of  ourselves--giving of the riches of the heart and mind--and therefore more  enduring and of far greater worth than presents bought at the store."Of course, among the greatest of gifts is the gift of love..."Some, like Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens's A Christmas Carol,  have a hard time loving anyone, even themselves, because of their  selfishness. Love seeks to give rather than to get. Charity towards and  compassion for others is a way to overcome too much self-love" (James E.  Faust, "A Christmas With No Presents," Ensign, Dec 2001, 2-6).

 

LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME!

Edisson's Baptism

First off... I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow Congrats Mom you are almost done with school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! 5 hours in the darkroom sounds intense and like it would make you sleepy :) Scan your pictures so I can see them!!!! Wow St. Helen's sounds like it was beautiful. First off... I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It hits me sometimes that I only have 7 weeks left being a FULL TIME MISSIONARY...it is weird. I'M WEIRD! ..not that anything has changed there but, I don't know how to talk about things other than the gospel anymore haha. I went to single's ward (because we had to help Edisson our investigator adjust) and everyone was flirting haha and it makes me feel really awkward. So prepare to have an awkward daughter!!!!!!!!!!! These past few weeks have been really challenging to find more people to teach. A lot of people are actually pretty grumpy, which is sad. They just don't understand what we bring :( I was kind of down and Sister Cortes as well because things aren't working out very well with one of our investigators...but then I went to church and all my worries/stresses/questions were calmed with the spirit I felt during testimony meeting. I know that each meeting in church is inspired of God to help us grow spiritually and receive revelation to our questions. It doesn't matter if you are the Prophet or a recent convert, church is something that was set up for all of us to remember the Savior and receive help and guidance. We saw many miracles yesterday and good things are to come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Edisson got baptized and it was beautiful! A lot of the people in singles ward came to support :) He also got his interview for the Priesthood and will receive it next Sunday! Life is good!!!!!!!!!!!! Just working away like crazy down here!!!! I hope it snows! haha Oh and hey don't worry about getting me anything for xmas!!!!!!!!!! You coming down is a present enough! LOVE YA!!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING!

One of the many flattened frogs we find. . .

Hey okay like I said before I'M SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED THAT YOU GET TO COME DOWN HERE!!!!!! Everyone will be so happy to meet you and I will be happy to say goodbye before I go. I have just loved every second here as a missionary and am going to continue to love every last second...even when it is a ROLLERCOASTER!!!!! This week was CRAZY. First off though, that sounds like a fun Thanksgiving with 30 people!!!!!!!!!! WOW! Did you have a good black Friday shopping time? Find any good socks? haha OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just so everyone knows, I like Steve because he is always willing to share with others what he has! Short email this week . . . got to go! BUT I LOVE YOU AND PRAY FOR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lost . . . and check out all the water bottles, at least you know I'm staying hydrated :)

Cutest blonde kids. Remind me of Andrew and Anna