WELL HELLO THERE! Thank you for your email! I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading them. I apologize because I only have fifteen minutes left to write!
JON LOOKS SO SKINNY!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS LIKE ?QUIEN ES ESO? HE LOOKS REALLY GOOD AND HAPPY!!!!! That is so amazing. I love that kid. He never writes me though so thank you for forwarding emails!
MOM WAY TO BE A MISSIONARY! You are seriously better than I am at this work! Way to go! That is so cool! Could you write this in it for her:
"Se que las palabras en este libro son las palabras de Dios. Testifico que cuando lea este libro puede ser mas cerca de Dios. Se que lo bendicira su vida mucho. Me cae bien su hijo Jorge! El es muy amable y divirtido!"
That is awesome that you had the missionarys over! What did you cook them?! That will be great for the exchange students. The members here have started inviting us over more = :) :) :) Tonight we are going over to a brazilian members house and I hear really good things about her cooking so I'm excited. I'm also excited because through the members is where the best missionary work happens.
This week was good! It had some hard moments and some good moments. We went on exchanges this week for my first time. I went with Sister Bevan and she is AMAZING. It was fun to work with her and see how she does things because everyone is so different. President Trayner came up from McAllen to do interviews. It was good to talk with him and Sister Trayner. Transfers are next Tuesday... I have almost survived my first transfer in the field!!!! Crazy eh? I think I will be staying here in Laredo with Sister Villalobos... or at least I hope anyway.
The one investigator I was talking about didn't come to church this week :/ I hope he is okay. We have an appointment to come back tomorrow so we'll see what is up. That is the hardest thing when people start out so strong and then slip away... like Jon was talking about the guy that didn't want to get baptized anymore. It is rough but we just keep moving - like he said everyone has their agency. I realized this week how much I need to be working on to become more like Christ. Every moment and every thought of this life counts. I'm so grateful for this experience to be out here. Thank you and Grandma and Grandpa Palmer for making this possible. I am grateful every day.
Oh yeah!!!!!!!!!!! THIS WEEK WE WERE OUT CONTACTING AND THIS GRANDMA LET US INTO HER HOUSE AND GAVE US THE BIGGEST GRAPEFRUITS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN! THEY WERE FRESH FROM HER TREE IN THE BACKYARD AND WERE AS BIG AS A MELON!!!!!!!!! AND SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD! I'LL SEND PICTURES :)
LOVE YOU ALL!
TAKE CARE!
P.S. WILL YOU TEXT BLAKELEY HAPPY BDAY FOR ME? OR ON FACEBOOK HAHA AND TELL HER TO WRITE ME SOMETHING B/C I DON'T HAVE HER ADDRESS
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
THE BAPTISM WAS AMAZING! The Lord works miracles.
WELLO (WELL HELLO HAHA) MAMA!!!!!
Okay I have so much to write I need like TEN HOURS TO FIT IT ALL IN! I'm going to speed type for you all. Conference was amazing right?
Okay so we had a BAPTISM AND IT WAS AMAZING! The Lord works miracles. It was amazing how calm and at peace she was later in the week when we talked to her. We had all been praying for her to feel at ease with the decision... and the Lord works according to our faith :) Her husband was able to baptize her on Saturday. It went perfect. She asked me to give a talk on baptism and I was honored. It was my first time speaking at a baptism. She came up out of the water and I knew she was clean. What a great feeling. They are planning to go to the Temple in a year with their little girl. Miracles happen.
The one investigator we met last week continues to amaze me. SOOOOOO many times people tell us "yeah come back next week..." but then they are NEVER there... but he was there and he had READ the pamphlet about the gospel. We had an amazing lesson about faith using Alma 32 and Ether 12. I can see the light and hope enter into his eyes already. We invited him to prepare for baptism and he is thinking about it. We also invited him to conference... and HE CAME..,.. and listened intently to the WHOLE thing. It was amazing. He did look at his watch once. Afterwards he told us that he loved it. He said that he felt like they were speaking DIRECTLY to him. It was Saturday afternoon session which talked a lot about faith... and I know the Lord specifically had him in mind while directing the speakers... so he is starting to feel it and each day I can see his smile is a little brighter. I really, really wish you and dad were serving down here as the senior missionaries... because honestly him and dad are SO MUCH ALIKE! He reminds me of Dad all the time and the things he has gone through. I was thinking as he was talking to us - "Dad would be the perfect member to take to these lessons." But anywho he is doing so well and I can't wait for you and Dad to serve a mission someday BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
So I have had some really interesting tracting stories from this week. First we were speaking with this lady at her door about the restoration.. in Spanish. I was explaining prophets and all of a sudden I hear my companion SCREAM... and I was like uh oh... and I look down and there was a GIANT HUGE GRUB WORM crawling past her feet on the portch. It was seriously three inches long and a half an inch wide. I have never seen one so big in my life. The owner kicks it to the side and we keep talking. Well Sister Villalobos invited her to be baptized and so the lady was thinking... and thinkking... and then all of a sudden she starts screaming hahaha I was like what in the world is going on around here... the bug decided to make another appearance. This time the woman gets her broom and procedes to golf it off the porch... we gave her a card and went on our merry way.
Second happened yesterday. A man opened his door and we introduced ourselves. He then asked us these questions
-Are you all pretty close?
-uhhhh sure.. yeah?
-Do you share things together?
-umm... not really but sometimes
-Would you ever share you husband?
Oh my goodness it was so ridiculous. It was really creepy and not a good conversation with him. I just thought it was funny though because he must have spent a long time thinking up those questions. No husband sharing for me!
Okay one last thing... THE COCHROACHES ARE CRAZY! We deep cleaned our apartment and found like 100 in the cupboard dead. We proabably kill one a day but they are small little buggers so it's not a big deal. The mosquitos are crazy and eat me like crazy. They are out at all times of the day--I don't get it!
Well I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SURVIVED FOUR WEEKS OUT HERE SO FAR WOOOOOOOOOT WOOT!!!
TAKE CARE!
LOVE,
HERMANA BRICKER
send my love to everytooonea;sdfj!!!!!!!!!!1
Okay I have so much to write I need like TEN HOURS TO FIT IT ALL IN! I'm going to speed type for you all. Conference was amazing right?
Okay so we had a BAPTISM AND IT WAS AMAZING! The Lord works miracles. It was amazing how calm and at peace she was later in the week when we talked to her. We had all been praying for her to feel at ease with the decision... and the Lord works according to our faith :) Her husband was able to baptize her on Saturday. It went perfect. She asked me to give a talk on baptism and I was honored. It was my first time speaking at a baptism. She came up out of the water and I knew she was clean. What a great feeling. They are planning to go to the Temple in a year with their little girl. Miracles happen.
The one investigator we met last week continues to amaze me. SOOOOOO many times people tell us "yeah come back next week..." but then they are NEVER there... but he was there and he had READ the pamphlet about the gospel. We had an amazing lesson about faith using Alma 32 and Ether 12. I can see the light and hope enter into his eyes already. We invited him to prepare for baptism and he is thinking about it. We also invited him to conference... and HE CAME..,.. and listened intently to the WHOLE thing. It was amazing. He did look at his watch once. Afterwards he told us that he loved it. He said that he felt like they were speaking DIRECTLY to him. It was Saturday afternoon session which talked a lot about faith... and I know the Lord specifically had him in mind while directing the speakers... so he is starting to feel it and each day I can see his smile is a little brighter. I really, really wish you and dad were serving down here as the senior missionaries... because honestly him and dad are SO MUCH ALIKE! He reminds me of Dad all the time and the things he has gone through. I was thinking as he was talking to us - "Dad would be the perfect member to take to these lessons." But anywho he is doing so well and I can't wait for you and Dad to serve a mission someday BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!
So I have had some really interesting tracting stories from this week. First we were speaking with this lady at her door about the restoration.. in Spanish. I was explaining prophets and all of a sudden I hear my companion SCREAM... and I was like uh oh... and I look down and there was a GIANT HUGE GRUB WORM crawling past her feet on the portch. It was seriously three inches long and a half an inch wide. I have never seen one so big in my life. The owner kicks it to the side and we keep talking. Well Sister Villalobos invited her to be baptized and so the lady was thinking... and thinkking... and then all of a sudden she starts screaming hahaha I was like what in the world is going on around here... the bug decided to make another appearance. This time the woman gets her broom and procedes to golf it off the porch... we gave her a card and went on our merry way.
Second happened yesterday. A man opened his door and we introduced ourselves. He then asked us these questions
-Are you all pretty close?
-uhhhh sure.. yeah?
-Do you share things together?
-umm... not really but sometimes
-Would you ever share you husband?
Oh my goodness it was so ridiculous. It was really creepy and not a good conversation with him. I just thought it was funny though because he must have spent a long time thinking up those questions. No husband sharing for me!
Okay one last thing... THE COCHROACHES ARE CRAZY! We deep cleaned our apartment and found like 100 in the cupboard dead. We proabably kill one a day but they are small little buggers so it's not a big deal. The mosquitos are crazy and eat me like crazy. They are out at all times of the day--I don't get it!
Well I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SURVIVED FOUR WEEKS OUT HERE SO FAR WOOOOOOOOOT WOOT!!!
TAKE CARE!
LOVE,
HERMANA BRICKER
send my love to everytooonea;sdfj!!!!!!!!!!1
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I'VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY IN MY LIFE
Laredo was great this week! It went by SUPER fast. I can't believe it. We met some really great people this week. The first door I knocked on this week, the guy opened the door and was like "what do you want?" he was super stand-offish and didn't want anything to do with me haha... which is normal.. but the more I talked with him about life and Jesus Christ, the more he opened up. He started talking to me about the terrible time he has been having for most of his life - and especially lately with finances. He started talking to me about how he had no faith left in God. He had been praying for help for the longest time and didn't feel like God was coming to the rescue. He told me just as he was doing the dishes that he was thinking really negative and how he wanted to end his life... and then he heard a knock at the door... and there I was. He started crying. I told him that a lot of the time God doesn't answer prayers in the way we expect. By the end of the conversation he said he knew God had sent us there to talk with him. We are going over tomorrow again. I hope we can help him build his faith again. It was just amazing to me that the Lord really does have people prepared and that need His message. It was a blessing to me to be able to work for Him in that moment and know that I was sent by Him specifically for someone in need.
THE LORD HAS A BAPTISM THIS SATURDAY! She reminds me of Chris - well in girl form. She has lots of great questions every time we go over and I learn a lot. She has great faith in God and desires to receive the cleanliness that comes from baptism. She is really nervous about it though so... if you want keep her in your prayers.
The couple I talked about last week are doing good. They won't come to church though. It is super sad. Her family is devout catholic and are giving her a really hard time about it... so she is hesitating now... but that is okay. We will keep praying and working hard to help her come closer to Christ.
Well the missionary work is GREAT! We went out knocking for four hours yesterday and it was AWESOME. We met a lot of great people who are interested and ready for the gospel. The Lord is truely preparing people all the time. We also met a lot of interesting folks... one who started speaking to us in "tougues" and encouraged us to try it sometime :)
Oh my goodness the food is DELICIOUS. We had dinner with the Soliz family this week. Everything they cooked was amazing. They are having us over again this week for some official mexican carne asada... so excited!!! My companion is teaching me how to make authentic enchiladas this week.
The work is hard but I LOVE IT. I've never been so happy in my life. I make a lot of mistakes and I'm definitley not perfect at anything but I don't know why, I'm just happy. The language is coming slowly but surely... I'd say I understand about 60%...but when it comes to speaking I'm probably 30-40%.... some day though. I can relate to Jon when he said sometimes I feel like I'm doing everything wrong... and haha for me a lot of the time it is true. But I'm grateful for those experiences because they keep me humble. I will never forget what Jill said in YW's:
"Every door in the Gospel hinges on humility"
or something like that - but its true!!!! It's all about being humble and teachable.
Gotta run BUT I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE. I KNOW GOD AND CHRIST LIVE. I KNOW WE WILL ALL SEE THEM AGAIN SOMEDAY.
TAKE CARE!
THE LORD HAS A BAPTISM THIS SATURDAY! She reminds me of Chris - well in girl form. She has lots of great questions every time we go over and I learn a lot. She has great faith in God and desires to receive the cleanliness that comes from baptism. She is really nervous about it though so... if you want keep her in your prayers.
The couple I talked about last week are doing good. They won't come to church though. It is super sad. Her family is devout catholic and are giving her a really hard time about it... so she is hesitating now... but that is okay. We will keep praying and working hard to help her come closer to Christ.
Well the missionary work is GREAT! We went out knocking for four hours yesterday and it was AWESOME. We met a lot of great people who are interested and ready for the gospel. The Lord is truely preparing people all the time. We also met a lot of interesting folks... one who started speaking to us in "tougues" and encouraged us to try it sometime :)
Oh my goodness the food is DELICIOUS. We had dinner with the Soliz family this week. Everything they cooked was amazing. They are having us over again this week for some official mexican carne asada... so excited!!! My companion is teaching me how to make authentic enchiladas this week.
The work is hard but I LOVE IT. I've never been so happy in my life. I make a lot of mistakes and I'm definitley not perfect at anything but I don't know why, I'm just happy. The language is coming slowly but surely... I'd say I understand about 60%...but when it comes to speaking I'm probably 30-40%.... some day though. I can relate to Jon when he said sometimes I feel like I'm doing everything wrong... and haha for me a lot of the time it is true. But I'm grateful for those experiences because they keep me humble. I will never forget what Jill said in YW's:
"Every door in the Gospel hinges on humility"
or something like that - but its true!!!! It's all about being humble and teachable.
Gotta run BUT I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE. I KNOW GOD AND CHRIST LIVE. I KNOW WE WILL ALL SEE THEM AGAIN SOMEDAY.
TAKE CARE!
Monday, September 20, 2010
HOLA!
It is good to hear what is going on there in Olympia. I can't believe it rained for ten days straight! Well actually I can believe it haha... it has been raining here too. I keep telling people that it reminds me of home :) It makes it a little trickier to go contact people.
Okay well this week went by CRAZY fast!!!!!!!!!!! We had a lot of conferences and training all over the place. We went to Corpus Cristi and McAllen. I missed Laredo though because it is amazing! It was funny reading Jon's email because it is so true, you really get attached to an area and the people there. While my companion was gone I went on splits with a member who is 17 and just got baptized like 5 months ago. We had scheduled a recent convert lesson and so it was just me and her... and it was ALL in Spanish... so I was a little nervous without my "mother" as we call our companions who train us. But Heavenly Father helped us out and it was all good. The young lady I went with is amazing and has such a strong testimony. She took me out to eat at Arby's afterwards - so nice.
My first mexican meal was PASOLE! It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! It is soup with homony and pork and it is SUPER DELICIOUS!!!! Speaking of food! We went to visit an investigator and she just so happened to be making apples covered in tamorindo. We helped her finish the ones she was making and she showed us how too!!!! Okay so you take an apple and scoop out the inside. Then you swipe some sugar inside and stuff it with fresh mango. Then you get this stuff that is red - kind of like strawberry fruit roll-up but some mexican candy - and spread it around the outside... then you roll it in the tamorindo/chile powder stuff and you are done. It is their version of carmeled apples :) I didn't think it was going to be good because it looked spicy from the outside - BUT IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!! Sorry it is a bad description but I'll send pics soon.
Okay, well we have some really AMAZING investigators right now. We met this one couple through a door contact. When we asked them later what they were expecting from our visits they said "we just want to see if you had more to offer/add"... and of course we were like YES WE DO!!!! When we later taught lesson one about prophets and Joseph Smith... we asked her if she believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said yes right away.... I was like wait a second, that isn't what people usually say! I am amazed by their faith. We asked her if she wanted to get baptized... and she said she already was... so we have to clear that issue up a bit but I have faith it will all work out :) God is so good!
I know this church is true.
I wouldn't be out here working, working, working if I didn't know this would bring so much joy to people's lives.
I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
P.S. MY MISSION PRESIDENT IS THE SAME PERSON AS DAD. THEY REMIND ME SO MUCH OF EACH OTHER IT IS CRAZY. THEY NEED TO MEET SOMEDAY
It is good to hear what is going on there in Olympia. I can't believe it rained for ten days straight! Well actually I can believe it haha... it has been raining here too. I keep telling people that it reminds me of home :) It makes it a little trickier to go contact people.
Okay well this week went by CRAZY fast!!!!!!!!!!! We had a lot of conferences and training all over the place. We went to Corpus Cristi and McAllen. I missed Laredo though because it is amazing! It was funny reading Jon's email because it is so true, you really get attached to an area and the people there. While my companion was gone I went on splits with a member who is 17 and just got baptized like 5 months ago. We had scheduled a recent convert lesson and so it was just me and her... and it was ALL in Spanish... so I was a little nervous without my "mother" as we call our companions who train us. But Heavenly Father helped us out and it was all good. The young lady I went with is amazing and has such a strong testimony. She took me out to eat at Arby's afterwards - so nice.
My first mexican meal was PASOLE! It was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! It is soup with homony and pork and it is SUPER DELICIOUS!!!! Speaking of food! We went to visit an investigator and she just so happened to be making apples covered in tamorindo. We helped her finish the ones she was making and she showed us how too!!!! Okay so you take an apple and scoop out the inside. Then you swipe some sugar inside and stuff it with fresh mango. Then you get this stuff that is red - kind of like strawberry fruit roll-up but some mexican candy - and spread it around the outside... then you roll it in the tamorindo/chile powder stuff and you are done. It is their version of carmeled apples :) I didn't think it was going to be good because it looked spicy from the outside - BUT IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!!! Sorry it is a bad description but I'll send pics soon.
Okay, well we have some really AMAZING investigators right now. We met this one couple through a door contact. When we asked them later what they were expecting from our visits they said "we just want to see if you had more to offer/add"... and of course we were like YES WE DO!!!! When we later taught lesson one about prophets and Joseph Smith... we asked her if she believed Joseph Smith was a prophet and she said yes right away.... I was like wait a second, that isn't what people usually say! I am amazed by their faith. We asked her if she wanted to get baptized... and she said she already was... so we have to clear that issue up a bit but I have faith it will all work out :) God is so good!
I know this church is true.
I wouldn't be out here working, working, working if I didn't know this would bring so much joy to people's lives.
I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HELLO MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
P.S. MY MISSION PRESIDENT IS THE SAME PERSON AS DAD. THEY REMIND ME SO MUCH OF EACH OTHER IT IS CRAZY. THEY NEED TO MEET SOMEDAY
Monday, September 13, 2010
Okay SO ABOUT TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!
HOLA MADRE Y FAMILIA!!!!!!!
COMO ESTAN?!?!?! First I would like to apologize because things have seriously been crazy lately. I'm sorry about not being able to talk for very long in the airport :( I had such high hopes of being able to talk to you and Dad, Debbie, Sarah... but oh well that is just how it goes sometimes. I was thinking about it and Christmas is only 3 months away so it will go quick :)
First of all that is so sad about Garrett. I didn't know he joined the church! I was little when I knew him but I remember him as always being jolly.... I don't know if that is the right word but he was always so nice. Tell his mom that I will be praying for her and that the Plan of Salvation is real. She will see him again one day. It is all possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have been soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo blessed this week through being able to talk to many many people about Him.
Your trip to Mt. Rainier looked GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it looks like you are having tons of fun with the exchange students.
Okay SO ABOUT TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My trainer is Hermana Villalobos :) She is AMAZING and so fun. She is from Mexico City and is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian. Hermana Villalobos is seriously an angel because she is so patient with my Spanish and all my mistakes haha and very encouraging so that is nice. I'll try and send a picture soon. She has been out for three months and I'm brand new so I was a little worried when President Trayner said that but things are going great! The Lord knows what He is doing so as long as we rely on Him, everything will work out.
My first contact:
When we were driving to Laredo... we were at a gas station and we went to talk to this guy who was walking to his car. He shut us down pretty quick :) But it was good first experience!
Okay so yes Laredo is right here by the border! Next pday I want to go eat lunch at the river or something :) We are in the Laredo north area which is actually the rich part of town. The houses are all SUPER nice. A lot of the people work for border patrol. The people here are super nice. Even when turning us down contacting they are nice about it. Most people believe in Jesus Christ down here so that is nice. A lot of people say we can come back but then are never there... so I'm just trying to understand what I need to be doing better to explain this message and the eternal signifigance of it. I'm having a hard time learning Spanish. It is hard for me to switch from one house to the next - speaking Spanish here and then English there... It's like trying to quit smoking but then surrounding myself with smokers... hahaha okay weird analogy but it is hard. But I need to get better and be willing to be wrong all the time w/ grammer/words... because I am haha. Someday it will come!
SO the heat actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think the Lord has been blessing me with the ability to work through it because people say to me "oh man it is SO HOT right now" and I'm just like hmmm it's not too bad actually. So definitly a blessing from God. Many people give us water here and I AM SO APPRECIATIVE... BECAUSE I SWEAT LIKE NOTHING BEFORE.
Okay so I'll tell you a story :) We were contacting my second day out here. I was with a recent convert. We were walking back to the car and we saw a woman bringing jugs of water into her house. So we went to go help her. She invited us to sit down and have a drink of water. The convert went to go get my companion who was at the next house. So I was standing there at the door talking to her BY MYSELF IN SPANISH. All I could do was ask random questions like "donde trabaja?" "cuantos son en su familia?" things like that and she was just smiling and giggling at my Spanish. She was so cute though. She said that the reason she let me/us in was that she felt prompted by the Spirit that I needed water.
She was the cutest lady and I am so grateful for her kindness and charity for us. I hope we can teach her again someday.
Okay well I have to go BUT I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I WILL WRITE YOU DEBBIE AND SARAH PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERMANAN BRICKER
I PRAY FOR YOU!!!!!!!
MOM THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE FOOD!!!!! I NEEDED IT BIG TIME! I'M LEARNING THAT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY OUT HERE!
COMO ESTAN?!?!?! First I would like to apologize because things have seriously been crazy lately. I'm sorry about not being able to talk for very long in the airport :( I had such high hopes of being able to talk to you and Dad, Debbie, Sarah... but oh well that is just how it goes sometimes. I was thinking about it and Christmas is only 3 months away so it will go quick :)
First of all that is so sad about Garrett. I didn't know he joined the church! I was little when I knew him but I remember him as always being jolly.... I don't know if that is the right word but he was always so nice. Tell his mom that I will be praying for her and that the Plan of Salvation is real. She will see him again one day. It is all possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ. I have been soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo blessed this week through being able to talk to many many people about Him.
Your trip to Mt. Rainier looked GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it looks like you are having tons of fun with the exchange students.
Okay SO ABOUT TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My trainer is Hermana Villalobos :) She is AMAZING and so fun. She is from Mexico City and is fluent in Spanish, English, French and Italian. Hermana Villalobos is seriously an angel because she is so patient with my Spanish and all my mistakes haha and very encouraging so that is nice. I'll try and send a picture soon. She has been out for three months and I'm brand new so I was a little worried when President Trayner said that but things are going great! The Lord knows what He is doing so as long as we rely on Him, everything will work out.
My first contact:
When we were driving to Laredo... we were at a gas station and we went to talk to this guy who was walking to his car. He shut us down pretty quick :) But it was good first experience!
Okay so yes Laredo is right here by the border! Next pday I want to go eat lunch at the river or something :) We are in the Laredo north area which is actually the rich part of town. The houses are all SUPER nice. A lot of the people work for border patrol. The people here are super nice. Even when turning us down contacting they are nice about it. Most people believe in Jesus Christ down here so that is nice. A lot of people say we can come back but then are never there... so I'm just trying to understand what I need to be doing better to explain this message and the eternal signifigance of it. I'm having a hard time learning Spanish. It is hard for me to switch from one house to the next - speaking Spanish here and then English there... It's like trying to quit smoking but then surrounding myself with smokers... hahaha okay weird analogy but it is hard. But I need to get better and be willing to be wrong all the time w/ grammer/words... because I am haha. Someday it will come!
SO the heat actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I think the Lord has been blessing me with the ability to work through it because people say to me "oh man it is SO HOT right now" and I'm just like hmmm it's not too bad actually. So definitly a blessing from God. Many people give us water here and I AM SO APPRECIATIVE... BECAUSE I SWEAT LIKE NOTHING BEFORE.
Okay so I'll tell you a story :) We were contacting my second day out here. I was with a recent convert. We were walking back to the car and we saw a woman bringing jugs of water into her house. So we went to go help her. She invited us to sit down and have a drink of water. The convert went to go get my companion who was at the next house. So I was standing there at the door talking to her BY MYSELF IN SPANISH. All I could do was ask random questions like "donde trabaja?" "cuantos son en su familia?" things like that and she was just smiling and giggling at my Spanish. She was so cute though. She said that the reason she let me/us in was that she felt prompted by the Spirit that I needed water.
She was the cutest lady and I am so grateful for her kindness and charity for us. I hope we can teach her again someday.
Okay well I have to go BUT I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND I WILL WRITE YOU DEBBIE AND SARAH PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERMANAN BRICKER
I PRAY FOR YOU!!!!!!!
MOM THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE FOOD!!!!! I NEEDED IT BIG TIME! I'M LEARNING THAT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY OUT HERE!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
September 7, 2010
Brother & Sister Bricker,
We had the privilege of meeting your daughter, Sister Bricker when she arrived at the McAllen International Airport. She looked great and appears very anxious to go to work.
We are grateful to have Sister Bricker in the Texas McAllen Mission. Already she has impressed us as a well-prepared young woman with a great spirit and a desire to serve the Lord. She has had excellent training and orientation at the Missionary Training Center in Provo in preparing for her missionary labors here in South Texas. Your support from home will be of great value to her as she serves her mission.
Her first assignment area is in the Laredo Zone. Her first companion is Sister Villalobos who is from Mexico. She is an outstanding missionary, and your daughter will receive excellent training under her direction. Their mail address is as follows:
4420 Loring Ave #9
Laredo, TX 78040
We thank you for sharing your daughter with us. We are confident that she will bless the lives of many people here in South Texas while serving as a missionary. May the Lord bless you abundantly while she is in the mission field and always.
With warm regards,
President Stephen J. Trayner
Sister Sandy Trayner
Texas McAllen Mission
Brother & Sister Bricker,
We had the privilege of meeting your daughter, Sister Bricker when she arrived at the McAllen International Airport. She looked great and appears very anxious to go to work.
We are grateful to have Sister Bricker in the Texas McAllen Mission. Already she has impressed us as a well-prepared young woman with a great spirit and a desire to serve the Lord. She has had excellent training and orientation at the Missionary Training Center in Provo in preparing for her missionary labors here in South Texas. Your support from home will be of great value to her as she serves her mission.
Her first assignment area is in the Laredo Zone. Her first companion is Sister Villalobos who is from Mexico. She is an outstanding missionary, and your daughter will receive excellent training under her direction. Their mail address is as follows:
4420 Loring Ave #9
Laredo, TX 78040
We thank you for sharing your daughter with us. We are confident that she will bless the lives of many people here in South Texas while serving as a missionary. May the Lord bless you abundantly while she is in the mission field and always.
With warm regards,
President Stephen J. Trayner
Sister Sandy Trayner
Texas McAllen Mission
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
OKAY SO I LEAVE THIS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are the stats:
SLC (8;25am)->Dallas(12:05pm)
Dallas(1:30)->McAllen(3:00pm)
American Airlines
SOOOOOOOO I will probably be at the airport about 6:30 utah time... so I'll probably give you a call around six your time? If that is okay? You'll probably be up right? I'll try the house :) I'm excited to talk to you!!!!!! I wish it was later in the day so I could practice my Spanish with the exchange students. Then hopefully when I'm in Dallas, I can call Debbie and Sarah and chat for a bit :) So be by your phones if you are available at those times!!!!!!!! Woooooo hoooooooooo! I can't believe I'm leaving SO SOON!!!!!!!!!! My mission is just flyiiiiiiiiing by already... I'm excited but nervous at the same time. I know I'm going to have a HUGE CULTURE SHOCK FROM BEING SURROUNDED by only missionaries for the past two months haha... BUT I CAN'T WAIT TO GET OUT AND BE ACTIVE AND WALKING AND TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT THE GOSPEL!!!!!! QUE BUENO!!!!!!!!!!!
It sounds like that slide show was really great, I WANT TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome you gave them un libro de mormon! Tell them: "se que JesuCristo vive ahora. se que Lo vendra otra vez. El Libro de Mormon es un otro testamento de JesuCristo... y a traves JesuCristo podemos regresar con nuestras familias a Dios otra vez... cuando yo veo el Libro de Mormon, tengo feliz y paz siempre. Esperanso que lean mas en este libro :) Esperanso encontrar ustedes algun dia! Lo siento porque mi espanol no esta bueno... pero yo trato :) Tengan buenas dias!"
GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALAN GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!! It was seriously the neatest experience of my life... I can't wait to feel that in the field. Mom way to go giving your friend a Book of Mormon!!!!! You are awesome and I'm proud to call you my mother!!!!!!
OKAY I DON'T HAVE TIME BUT LET ME SUMMARIZE MY GREAT WEEK:
-JEFFERY R. HOLLAND CAME FOR DEVOTIONAL LAST TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! TALKA BOUT A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE SITTING AT THE FOOT OF AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST
-SARAH SENT ME GLUTEN FREE SPICE BARS AND WE ALL CHOWED DOWN THEY WERE DELICIOUS... NOW I HAVE 5 MORE POUNDS HAHA
-WHEN PLAYING BASEBALL WITH THIS WEEK, THE BALL HIT ME IN THE ANKLE AND I HAVE THE COOLEST BRUISE IN THE WORLD... I WAS SOOOO EXCITED. THE ELDER FELT REALLY BAD SO I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT I ACTUALLY WAS REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE IT
I am running out of tim ebut tell Debbie thanks for the dear elder!!!!!!!!!!!! love ya and will call soon!!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS GOOD! I KNOW HE IS THERE FOR YOU EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY! SEEK HIM!!!!!!!
LES QIERO
SLC (8;25am)->Dallas(12:05pm)
Dallas(1:30)->McAllen(3:00pm)
American Airlines
SOOOOOOOO I will probably be at the airport about 6:30 utah time... so I'll probably give you a call around six your time? If that is okay? You'll probably be up right? I'll try the house :) I'm excited to talk to you!!!!!! I wish it was later in the day so I could practice my Spanish with the exchange students. Then hopefully when I'm in Dallas, I can call Debbie and Sarah and chat for a bit :) So be by your phones if you are available at those times!!!!!!!! Woooooo hoooooooooo! I can't believe I'm leaving SO SOON!!!!!!!!!! My mission is just flyiiiiiiiiing by already... I'm excited but nervous at the same time. I know I'm going to have a HUGE CULTURE SHOCK FROM BEING SURROUNDED by only missionaries for the past two months haha... BUT I CAN'T WAIT TO GET OUT AND BE ACTIVE AND WALKING AND TALKING TO PEOPLE ABOUT THE GOSPEL!!!!!! QUE BUENO!!!!!!!!!!!
It sounds like that slide show was really great, I WANT TO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!! That is awesome you gave them un libro de mormon! Tell them: "se que JesuCristo vive ahora. se que Lo vendra otra vez. El Libro de Mormon es un otro testamento de JesuCristo... y a traves JesuCristo podemos regresar con nuestras familias a Dios otra vez... cuando yo veo el Libro de Mormon, tengo feliz y paz siempre. Esperanso que lean mas en este libro :) Esperanso encontrar ustedes algun dia! Lo siento porque mi espanol no esta bueno... pero yo trato :) Tengan buenas dias!"
GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALAN GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!!!!!!!!!! It was seriously the neatest experience of my life... I can't wait to feel that in the field. Mom way to go giving your friend a Book of Mormon!!!!! You are awesome and I'm proud to call you my mother!!!!!!
OKAY I DON'T HAVE TIME BUT LET ME SUMMARIZE MY GREAT WEEK:
-JEFFERY R. HOLLAND CAME FOR DEVOTIONAL LAST TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! TALKA BOUT A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE SITTING AT THE FOOT OF AN APOSTLE OF JESUS CHRIST
-SARAH SENT ME GLUTEN FREE SPICE BARS AND WE ALL CHOWED DOWN THEY WERE DELICIOUS... NOW I HAVE 5 MORE POUNDS HAHA
-WHEN PLAYING BASEBALL WITH THIS WEEK, THE BALL HIT ME IN THE ANKLE AND I HAVE THE COOLEST BRUISE IN THE WORLD... I WAS SOOOO EXCITED. THE ELDER FELT REALLY BAD SO I HAD TO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT I ACTUALLY WAS REALLY EXCITED TO HAVE IT
I am running out of tim ebut tell Debbie thanks for the dear elder!!!!!!!!!!!! love ya and will call soon!!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS GOOD! I KNOW HE IS THERE FOR YOU EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY! SEEK HIM!!!!!!!
LES QIERO
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
WELL HELLO THERE MADRE AND WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!
So this week has been pretty good!!! I have to agree with Jon that some days are better than others. It is hard sometimes and I'll write you an excerpt from my journal that explains it:
I was having a hard time later in the day while we were teaching with the Elders... I was hot and tired and wasn't in the 'mood' I guess to teach (aka didn't have the Spirit)... when I prayed to God to help me through.. as I prayed, 'Nearer my God to Thee' came into my head. At that moment I was so greatly comforted by that hymn. God blessed me to remember that is what hard moments are about - coming closer to God... Mas cerca Dios de Ti... mas cerca Ti...
The Savior lives, I know it because I feel it everyday in my life. Thanks so much about the D&C 84:77. That is one of my greatest desires is to have the Savior call me His friend. You're a good one mom :) Thanks for all your support for me.
This week I had a lot of fun moments. I met a Hermana Christensen this week and we are AMIGAS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!! She is so crazy and I love her haha. She just left today for KENNEWICK MISSION!!!!!!!!!!! I told her that is where I was born and we were excited. I would have told her to say hi to everyone for me but she will be in Spanish branches I'm sure. She was in the advanced Spanish course so she helped me with my Spanish haha. BY THE WAY THE NEXT TWO WEEKS I WILL BE SPEAKING 80 PERCENT IN SPANISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UH OH HAHAHA. I try my best and that is all I can do... only two more weeks in the MTC it is crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy but i'm really looking forward to getting out into the world... even though it is going to be a major shell shock from being in the same mile radius of only missionaries haha.
Okay something exciting this week is that our progressing investigator Alan is getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!! Woooooooo! We introduced the Word of Wisdom to him and he was hesitant at first... but later while thinking about it he said he was willing to take that step of faith. Ah the gospel is great. Tomorrow we go to the TRC to teach the Plan of Salvation in Spanish. I love that knowledge. Families can be together forever :)
I LOVE YOU ALL MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh p.s. I met Ses Maiava's neice yesterday at the mtc!!!
So this week has been pretty good!!! I have to agree with Jon that some days are better than others. It is hard sometimes and I'll write you an excerpt from my journal that explains it:
I was having a hard time later in the day while we were teaching with the Elders... I was hot and tired and wasn't in the 'mood' I guess to teach (aka didn't have the Spirit)... when I prayed to God to help me through.. as I prayed, 'Nearer my God to Thee' came into my head. At that moment I was so greatly comforted by that hymn. God blessed me to remember that is what hard moments are about - coming closer to God... Mas cerca Dios de Ti... mas cerca Ti...
The Savior lives, I know it because I feel it everyday in my life. Thanks so much about the D&C 84:77. That is one of my greatest desires is to have the Savior call me His friend. You're a good one mom :) Thanks for all your support for me.
This week I had a lot of fun moments. I met a Hermana Christensen this week and we are AMIGAS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!! She is so crazy and I love her haha. She just left today for KENNEWICK MISSION!!!!!!!!!!! I told her that is where I was born and we were excited. I would have told her to say hi to everyone for me but she will be in Spanish branches I'm sure. She was in the advanced Spanish course so she helped me with my Spanish haha. BY THE WAY THE NEXT TWO WEEKS I WILL BE SPEAKING 80 PERCENT IN SPANISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UH OH HAHAHA. I try my best and that is all I can do... only two more weeks in the MTC it is crazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy but i'm really looking forward to getting out into the world... even though it is going to be a major shell shock from being in the same mile radius of only missionaries haha.
Okay something exciting this week is that our progressing investigator Alan is getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!! Woooooooo! We introduced the Word of Wisdom to him and he was hesitant at first... but later while thinking about it he said he was willing to take that step of faith. Ah the gospel is great. Tomorrow we go to the TRC to teach the Plan of Salvation in Spanish. I love that knowledge. Families can be together forever :)
I LOVE YOU ALL MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh p.s. I met Ses Maiava's neice yesterday at the mtc!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
SOOOOOOOOO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!!!! I know I really missed having an email from you last week but I got your post card and it was great! Nothing like a cemetary in Idaho to brighten my spirits!!!!! hahaha I'm just giving you a bad time, I really did love it! I didn't get too much mail this week so it was quite the treasure to recieve that! I'm excited that Dad caught his limit this year... and I figured the fishing wouldn't be too good because I wasn't there :) God is saving it for when I get back :) haha just kidding. OH MY GOODNESS GOAT FUDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE KIDDING! THAT IS THE BEST THING I'VE HEARD ALL DAY (well besides the recitation of the first vision... sorry I'm a missionary now those things are really exciting :)) TELL LANCE THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!! I'M SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED FOR IT TO COME!!!!!! WOOOOO HOOOOOO. MY COMPANIONS WILL BE EXCITED TAMBIEN :)
TELL THE NEW STUDENTS HELLO! I just got a letter from Chelsea from Japan. She is doing great! What city is he from in Japan? Wooo and tell the spanish speakers "Hola, como estas? Por favor traducira mi cartas por mi madre? Bienvinidos a Washington!" That is awesome. Send pics when you can! Actually I got like 100 from dad so there are probably some in there - I hope I'll have time to look at them all!!!!!
OKAY SO THIS WEEK I HAVE STORIES!
SO in order to not gain weight here, I only have treats on fridays... they always rotate desserts and we never know what we are having... and I have been telling my companions that I really really want pumpkin pie and that it is my favorite... and GUESS WHAT?! THIS FRIDAY THEY FINALLY HAD PUMPKIN PIE FOR DESSERT!!!!!! My companions were freaking out and went and got me a piece before I even sat down at the table because they knew how much I love it... that is true love right there :) So that was a highlight of my week haha :)
Okay and lots of Spanish mishaps this week. Okay so we were teaching an "investigator" Luis the first lesson. I was sharing with him about prophets and the importance of prophets (all in Spanish). I go to look up Amos 3:7 in my Spanish scriptures... but it is taking a while because they are new... so my companion Hermana Harrison says to me "Amos 3:7 right?" and opens her scriptures to it and has him start to read. As he was reading I thought it sounded a little weird but didn't question because most of the time Spanish sounds wierd to me... when he was done I asked him "so from this verse, what can we learn about prophets?" He just starts laughing and laughing... and I'm thinking "ohhhh no... what scripture did we give him..." Apperently my companion marked AMOS 4:7 instead of AMOS 3:7... look it up :) Maybe you would have had to be there for it to be funny haha but it was in the moment.
Pues, tengo tres semanas mas aqui en Provo. Estoy ANIMADO estar en Texas. I'm trying to use my spanish more but it takes too long. oh exciting news!!!!!!!!!! We set a baptisimal date with Alan one of our investigators. Probably one of the most exciting moments of my life... and its not even the real deal yet. This work is great! I love being a missionary for the Savior. I couldn't do anything without Him...
LOVE YOU!!!!
HELLO FAMILY DEBBIE, SARAH, STEVE, MIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE YOU ALLL SO MUCH
SAY HI TO BLAKELEY IF YOU SEE HER OR HAVE YOU HEARD FROM HER?
TELL THE NEW STUDENTS HELLO! I just got a letter from Chelsea from Japan. She is doing great! What city is he from in Japan? Wooo and tell the spanish speakers "Hola, como estas? Por favor traducira mi cartas por mi madre? Bienvinidos a Washington!" That is awesome. Send pics when you can! Actually I got like 100 from dad so there are probably some in there - I hope I'll have time to look at them all!!!!!
OKAY SO THIS WEEK I HAVE STORIES!
SO in order to not gain weight here, I only have treats on fridays... they always rotate desserts and we never know what we are having... and I have been telling my companions that I really really want pumpkin pie and that it is my favorite... and GUESS WHAT?! THIS FRIDAY THEY FINALLY HAD PUMPKIN PIE FOR DESSERT!!!!!! My companions were freaking out and went and got me a piece before I even sat down at the table because they knew how much I love it... that is true love right there :) So that was a highlight of my week haha :)
Okay and lots of Spanish mishaps this week. Okay so we were teaching an "investigator" Luis the first lesson. I was sharing with him about prophets and the importance of prophets (all in Spanish). I go to look up Amos 3:7 in my Spanish scriptures... but it is taking a while because they are new... so my companion Hermana Harrison says to me "Amos 3:7 right?" and opens her scriptures to it and has him start to read. As he was reading I thought it sounded a little weird but didn't question because most of the time Spanish sounds wierd to me... when he was done I asked him "so from this verse, what can we learn about prophets?" He just starts laughing and laughing... and I'm thinking "ohhhh no... what scripture did we give him..." Apperently my companion marked AMOS 4:7 instead of AMOS 3:7... look it up :) Maybe you would have had to be there for it to be funny haha but it was in the moment.
Pues, tengo tres semanas mas aqui en Provo. Estoy ANIMADO estar en Texas. I'm trying to use my spanish more but it takes too long. oh exciting news!!!!!!!!!! We set a baptisimal date with Alan one of our investigators. Probably one of the most exciting moments of my life... and its not even the real deal yet. This work is great! I love being a missionary for the Savior. I couldn't do anything without Him...
LOVE YOU!!!!
HELLO FAMILY DEBBIE, SARAH, STEVE, MIKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE YOU ALLL SO MUCH
SAY HI TO BLAKELEY IF YOU SEE HER OR HAVE YOU HEARD FROM HER?
Friday, August 13, 2010
HOW WAS MACKAY!!!!!! NECISSITO FOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who caught the biggest fish? Did everyone make it out alive? Did you not want to come back to Oly? Dad told me that he met the sherrif somewhere hahaha.
Okay well this week was sooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooood! I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE TIME GOES BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I JUST EMAILED YOU!!!!!!!! Life is good here. At the Training Resource Center we got to teach a mom and her three little kids about the plan of salvation. It was really a special experience. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE REAL DEAL!!!!!!!! While we were teaching them though, the kids were down on the ground playing with toys... and while we were talking to the mom one of the kids grabs a stick thing and just starts beating his little sister...we all just look at her like "uhhh what do we do in this situation" hahaha it was all good though... not much phases me thanks to the Deerwester children! AND GROWING UP IN OUR HOUSE. LOVE IT! Oh and also, we were teaching Alan our progressive investigator yesterday... and I gave my first baptisimal invitation! Bah it was great. We were out of time but we are going to talk to him more about it tomorrow. He is ready for it.
Let's seee!!!!!!! Oh yeah funny story. So on Friday we get sack breakfast because we do service and eat outside. So I picked an apple and two hard-boiled eggs for my breakfast. We were eating out on the benches. I start smashing my egg on the bench so I could peel it... but all of a sudden it didn't feel right... because IT WASN'T BOILED hahahaha. So I cracked a raw egg on the bench and then ran to the garbage can... apperently the chef people put out the wrong kind of eggs haha. It helped wake me up though :)
This week I've had a lot of special, special experiences. The Spirit has helped guide me in many ways. I know that when I am striving to do the will of Heavenly Father that He helps me out.... if I study hard, He will help bring those things to rememberance when I need them most. Early this week the language study was going along really well!!! I was like "man what is going on, this seems a little bit easier" then I remembered I had asked you all to pray for my Spanish... I definitely felt your prayers and I want to say thank you thank you thank you! God does answer prayers, of that I am CERTAIN!!!!!!!! I have now completed five weeks here at the MTC! Crazy. Mom they should be sending you my travel plans in like two weeks. You will know before I do! AND I GET TO CALL YOU FROM THE AIRPORT!!!!!!!!!! SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!
WELL WRITE ME AND TELL ME ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING AND ALL YOUR ADVENTURES!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL!
LA VIDA ES BUENO!
LES QIERO!
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. I LOST A COUPLE OF POUNDS!!!!!!!!! YAY FOR MTC SALADS, SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD
Okay well this week was sooooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooood! I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE TIME GOES BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I JUST EMAILED YOU!!!!!!!! Life is good here. At the Training Resource Center we got to teach a mom and her three little kids about the plan of salvation. It was really a special experience. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE REAL DEAL!!!!!!!! While we were teaching them though, the kids were down on the ground playing with toys... and while we were talking to the mom one of the kids grabs a stick thing and just starts beating his little sister...we all just look at her like "uhhh what do we do in this situation" hahaha it was all good though... not much phases me thanks to the Deerwester children! AND GROWING UP IN OUR HOUSE. LOVE IT! Oh and also, we were teaching Alan our progressive investigator yesterday... and I gave my first baptisimal invitation! Bah it was great. We were out of time but we are going to talk to him more about it tomorrow. He is ready for it.
Let's seee!!!!!!! Oh yeah funny story. So on Friday we get sack breakfast because we do service and eat outside. So I picked an apple and two hard-boiled eggs for my breakfast. We were eating out on the benches. I start smashing my egg on the bench so I could peel it... but all of a sudden it didn't feel right... because IT WASN'T BOILED hahahaha. So I cracked a raw egg on the bench and then ran to the garbage can... apperently the chef people put out the wrong kind of eggs haha. It helped wake me up though :)
This week I've had a lot of special, special experiences. The Spirit has helped guide me in many ways. I know that when I am striving to do the will of Heavenly Father that He helps me out.... if I study hard, He will help bring those things to rememberance when I need them most. Early this week the language study was going along really well!!! I was like "man what is going on, this seems a little bit easier" then I remembered I had asked you all to pray for my Spanish... I definitely felt your prayers and I want to say thank you thank you thank you! God does answer prayers, of that I am CERTAIN!!!!!!!! I have now completed five weeks here at the MTC! Crazy. Mom they should be sending you my travel plans in like two weeks. You will know before I do! AND I GET TO CALL YOU FROM THE AIRPORT!!!!!!!!!! SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!
WELL WRITE ME AND TELL ME ABOUT HOW THINGS ARE GOING AND ALL YOUR ADVENTURES!!!!!!!!
I LOVE YOU ALL!
LA VIDA ES BUENO!
LES QIERO!
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. I LOST A COUPLE OF POUNDS!!!!!!!!! YAY FOR MTC SALADS, SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD
MARIKA SENT ME COOKIES!!!!!!!
August 3, 2010
OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE PACKAGE OF SHIRTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE ALL SO CUTE AND I LOVE THEM. I HAVE THE BEST FAMILY EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HONESTLY I REALLY REALLY APPRECIATE THE SHIRTS MAMA Y THE BEEF JERKY PAPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And thank for sending the book, Jesus the Christ... I can barely understand that in English haha but one day I will understand it in Spanish so thank you for that! It will be a great resource to use for sure. Did I mention I love the shirts? They are beautiful and I'm wearing one right now! The striped one :) Okay but thank you thank you. I OWE YOU SOOOOO MUCH! My roomate and I chowed down on the jerky as soon as we opened the package. But honestly I seriousely have the best family ever. Last night in my prayers I went through every single one of you and thanked Heavenly Father for what you have done for me and taught me in my life. I love you all!
That is a really cool analogy about the dollar bill!!! I might actually use that for one of my investigators right now - Alejandro. He doesn't really like churches right now because they have made him feel like he is a bad person in the past... it might help. I can't believe Hyemin, Sung Keun and Fic are all gone :( sad day!!!!!! If they are reading this, HELLO HYEMIN, SUNG KEUN AND FIC!!!!!!!!!!!!
YOU AND DAD WENT ON A VACATION TO THE COAST?!!!!!!! AWESOME! HOW WAS IT? WAHT PART DID YOU GO TO???? Oh and you are at Mackay right now!!!!!!!!!! I was just telling my companions about it and how I love to go fly fishing. Catch tons for me!!!!!!!
Tell Bishop hello for me!!!!!!! I'll have to send him a note sometime. GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MARIKA SENT ME COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I got it during class and we were all trying to figure out what it was and who it was from (because it was same day delivery from BYU) so we all took turns sniffing it and shaking it. The box smelled like pizza so we were all certain that it was pizza haha and all the Elder's were like you are going to share right?! Later at my dorm we opened it and it was COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYY! HAHA we gobbled them down right away of course and then worked it off with some sand volleyball. THANK YOU MARIKA THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!! I SHOWED PRESIDENT STACEY THE NOTE :)
The Elder's in my district are basically all my little brother's now. Yesterday one asked me "Hermana Bricker are you ever in a bad mood?" LA VIDA ES BUENA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You've seen me in plenty of bad moods though mom haha. But really life is sooooooo good here! I'm excited for the field because then it will be real and I get to go outside all the time... but I'm really learning a ton here. We invited one of our investigators to church this week and he came! He is progressing well and feeling the Spirit. He isn't being easy on us though, we really have to strive hard to meet his needs and answer his questions.
This gospel helps everyone. I am beginning to see that ANY QUESTION WE HAVE WITH OUR LIVES can be answered from the Book of Mormon. I see miracles every day. The Lord is sustaining me for sure.
You are all the best and TE AMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you have time please pray for me to learn Spanish! I need help. OH YEAH AND I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN 4 WEEKS ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!! TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN!
LOVE YOU ALL
HAVE THE BEST WEEK EVER
YOU'RE THE BEST
HERMANA BRICKER
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I LOVE THIS GOSPEL WITH ALL MY HEART!!!!
OKAY TIME FOR CONNECTIONS: My branch president here is Marika Peterson's uncle... so you'll have to tell her that. Then this week we were teaching the district next to us in Spanish and the elder we taught was from Elma.... he knows Jon and Maddy. So you'll have to tell Maddy that I taught with Elder Jared Larson here in the MTC.
Wellllllllllllll are you EXCITED FOR MACKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!!!!! DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH FUN WITHOUT ME. I'M JUST WAITING FOR TWO YEARS BECUASE THE FISH WILL BE BIGGER THEN ANYWAY :D THINGS HERE ARE SOOOOOOOOO BUSY BUT GREAT. I LOVE IT. THE TEMPLE IS OPEN AGAIN SO WE GET TO GO TODAY. MY SPANISH IS OKAY SOME DAYS BUT THEN OTHER DAYS IT'S LIKE I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING HAHA. So I think I told you we have two progressing investigators right now. Alan is keeping his commitments and is really excited about the bom. Alejandro is ALL IN SPANISH and our second visit with him he told us that he was a homosexual and that the churchs he has been to haven't liked him for that... and let me tell you it was MUY DEFACIL to explain about chastity/sexuality with two weeks worth of Spanish hahahaha but we did our best and made it through. I definitely appreciate your prayers though because I need it for este idioma!!!!!!! ARRIBA!!!!!!!!! I'm beginning to realize that there is no way I can do everything.... I just need to do my BEST and be MYSELF and the Lord will take care of the rest.
I love this gospel with all my heart. I know it is the way back to my Heavenly Father. I love you so much mama y papa y familia. Thank you for your support, I could not do it without you. Letters from home really do mean the world to missionaries. I'm working hard for you and for the people of Texas. I want them to have this happiness for them and their families. I KNOW ONE DAY WE WILL ALL STAND BEFORE GOD AND CHRIST AND I WANT TO BE READY.
LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLLLL SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SAY HELLO TO STEVIE STEVE FOR ME! I NEED HIS ADDRESSS!
HOPE LIFE IS WELL
TE AMO,
HERMANA BRICKER
Wellllllllllllll are you EXCITED FOR MACKAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!!!!! DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH FUN WITHOUT ME. I'M JUST WAITING FOR TWO YEARS BECUASE THE FISH WILL BE BIGGER THEN ANYWAY :D THINGS HERE ARE SOOOOOOOOO BUSY BUT GREAT. I LOVE IT. THE TEMPLE IS OPEN AGAIN SO WE GET TO GO TODAY. MY SPANISH IS OKAY SOME DAYS BUT THEN OTHER DAYS IT'S LIKE I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING HAHA. So I think I told you we have two progressing investigators right now. Alan is keeping his commitments and is really excited about the bom. Alejandro is ALL IN SPANISH and our second visit with him he told us that he was a homosexual and that the churchs he has been to haven't liked him for that... and let me tell you it was MUY DEFACIL to explain about chastity/sexuality with two weeks worth of Spanish hahahaha but we did our best and made it through. I definitely appreciate your prayers though because I need it for este idioma!!!!!!! ARRIBA!!!!!!!!! I'm beginning to realize that there is no way I can do everything.... I just need to do my BEST and be MYSELF and the Lord will take care of the rest.
I love this gospel with all my heart. I know it is the way back to my Heavenly Father. I love you so much mama y papa y familia. Thank you for your support, I could not do it without you. Letters from home really do mean the world to missionaries. I'm working hard for you and for the people of Texas. I want them to have this happiness for them and their families. I KNOW ONE DAY WE WILL ALL STAND BEFORE GOD AND CHRIST AND I WANT TO BE READY.
LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLLLLL SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SAY HELLO TO STEVIE STEVE FOR ME! I NEED HIS ADDRESSS!
HOPE LIFE IS WELL
TE AMO,
HERMANA BRICKER
Monday, July 26, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Not just companions, but friends
Well my second week has been MUCH MUCH MUCH better than my first. My companions and I are starting to work better together in unity. We took the time to become not just companions, but FRIENDS and that has made all the difference. I love those sisters. This week we went to the training resource center for the first time - where they have volunteers act as investigators. It was really awesome to get to practice teaching. The coolest thing those is that we also got two new progressing investigators... people who have been on missions and know what it is going to be like out there and what people need... every other day we go and teach that same person about the gospel. One speaks English and the other speaks ONLY Spanish :O uh oh! haha well better to learn now than later. Our first lesson with Alejandro (Spanish) is on Friday! BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO HAVE LOVE FOR THAT PERSON AND THE SPIRIT. This work will go nowhere without those things. I'm praying ALLL THE TIME, EVERY PRAYER for the Spirit and the gift of charity and love. It is hard. When my heart is set in the right place things go much better. I love this Gospel. I love Heavenly Father. The only reason I am out here is because I know the happiness this Gospel brings... and brings families. I love what you sent me about the Gospel blessing families. It is so true. I know it has blessed ours tremendously.
AHHH MY TIME IS ALMOST OUT! My favorite part about this week was teaching our new investigators and playing sand volleyball in the beautiful warm evening!!!!!! Gym time is amazing.
Tell everyone hi for me~!!! Pet Sattelite for me :) :) :)
TE AMO MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. ESTHER IS GOING TO TAIWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FREAKING OUT SHE'LL BE HERE WHEN I'M HERE!!!!!!!!
I'M SENDING PICTURES IN SARAH'S LETTER FOR YOU
OH AND I MET A SISTER FROM JON'S MISSION SISTER PURDY
WOOOOOOOOOOO
GOD IS GOOD
THE CHURCH IS TRUE
LOVE YA
AHHH MY TIME IS ALMOST OUT! My favorite part about this week was teaching our new investigators and playing sand volleyball in the beautiful warm evening!!!!!! Gym time is amazing.
Tell everyone hi for me~!!! Pet Sattelite for me :) :) :)
TE AMO MUCHO MUCHO MUCHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. ESTHER IS GOING TO TAIWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FREAKING OUT SHE'LL BE HERE WHEN I'M HERE!!!!!!!!
I'M SENDING PICTURES IN SARAH'S LETTER FOR YOU
OH AND I MET A SISTER FROM JON'S MISSION SISTER PURDY
WOOOOOOOOOOO
GOD IS GOOD
THE CHURCH IS TRUE
LOVE YA
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY
LIFE IS BUSY, BUSY, BUSY AND A LOT OF WORK HERE IN THE MTC BUT IT IS GREAT! I love the picture of Anna and the peanut butter :) You are training her well! Peanut butter is the spice of life. I was going through withdrawals for a few days because I never saw any peanut butter in the cafeteria . . . but then I found it and now I have a spoonful every night after dinner! The food is pretty good!!!! Not as good as yours of course Mom :) They have different salads every day for lunch and dinner so that is basically all I eat because my health goal is not to gain any weight here at the MTC.
The first couple of days were LONGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! But now it is GREAT! I'm getting used to the schedule and we have time to study outside which is awesome. There is no way that I would keep going if it wasn't for the Savior. I remember the second day I was having a really hard time, because there is so much to do and I really feel quite INADEQUATE for this work, but then I realized that I was trying to do it all on my own . . . so I thought of that picture you gave me and realized that I wasn't turning to the Savior in my time of need. He is ALWAYS there to help us. As soon as I sought His help, things have been MUCH better. I have learned so much in the past 6 days. I thought I knew what missionary work was all about . . . but no way. It is all about the Spirit and not saying what I think the person wants to hear, but asking Heavenly Father what they NEED to hear.
We haven't learned much Spanish yet . . . BUT my teacher is REALLY, REALLY GOOD and it is coming soon. He is preparing us spiritually before we jump into the language. I do know how to pray and bear testimony in Spanish. We can't say any more prayers in English so that is fun :) My roommate said the other night I was talking in my sleep, but the best part was that she said it was all in Spanish :) haha so I must be learning something right? My companions are Hermana Harrison and Hermana Dalton. Hermana Harrison went to BYUI and is very spunky and works hard. Hermana Dalton is very smart and in-tune with the missionary purpose. They are great. I'm really learning to love them.
Oh, guess what?!?!?! I have officially broken my gum habit! Are you proud of me? No gum allowed as a missionary! So if you send me anything, send mints :) My favorite thing my teacher says a lot is "It doesn't matter how well you present a lesson. It doesn't matter how well you speak Spanish. What matters is that you feel the spirit and the investigator feels the spirit." Great, great advice. We are here to invite others to come unto Christ. Life is good. We work, work, work hard all day and at the end you look back and feel really good.
Yay for the beach!!!! That is awesome. Saul knows how to make a smore apparently :) I'm glad you had fun!!!
SungGeun and Hyemin: I use the lotion every day it's so dry here
Fic: You are so awesome and I miss you
Saul: Eat lots of smores for me
Pedro: Keep enjoying your time in Oly
If you want to write me by dearelder.com I get it that day and then I don't have to spend my computer time reading and can get right into writing.
LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!
I HAVE AN AWESOME FAMILY!!!!!!
SE QUE ESTA IGLESIA ES VERDADERA :)
TE AMO
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. THERE IS AN ELDER IN MY DISTRICT THAT REMINDS ME OF JON AND IT'S AWESOME. HE IS SO FUNNY.
The first couple of days were LONGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! But now it is GREAT! I'm getting used to the schedule and we have time to study outside which is awesome. There is no way that I would keep going if it wasn't for the Savior. I remember the second day I was having a really hard time, because there is so much to do and I really feel quite INADEQUATE for this work, but then I realized that I was trying to do it all on my own . . . so I thought of that picture you gave me and realized that I wasn't turning to the Savior in my time of need. He is ALWAYS there to help us. As soon as I sought His help, things have been MUCH better. I have learned so much in the past 6 days. I thought I knew what missionary work was all about . . . but no way. It is all about the Spirit and not saying what I think the person wants to hear, but asking Heavenly Father what they NEED to hear.
We haven't learned much Spanish yet . . . BUT my teacher is REALLY, REALLY GOOD and it is coming soon. He is preparing us spiritually before we jump into the language. I do know how to pray and bear testimony in Spanish. We can't say any more prayers in English so that is fun :) My roommate said the other night I was talking in my sleep, but the best part was that she said it was all in Spanish :) haha so I must be learning something right? My companions are Hermana Harrison and Hermana Dalton. Hermana Harrison went to BYUI and is very spunky and works hard. Hermana Dalton is very smart and in-tune with the missionary purpose. They are great. I'm really learning to love them.
Oh, guess what?!?!?! I have officially broken my gum habit! Are you proud of me? No gum allowed as a missionary! So if you send me anything, send mints :) My favorite thing my teacher says a lot is "It doesn't matter how well you present a lesson. It doesn't matter how well you speak Spanish. What matters is that you feel the spirit and the investigator feels the spirit." Great, great advice. We are here to invite others to come unto Christ. Life is good. We work, work, work hard all day and at the end you look back and feel really good.
Yay for the beach!!!! That is awesome. Saul knows how to make a smore apparently :) I'm glad you had fun!!!
SungGeun and Hyemin: I use the lotion every day it's so dry here
Fic: You are so awesome and I miss you
Saul: Eat lots of smores for me
Pedro: Keep enjoying your time in Oly
If you want to write me by dearelder.com I get it that day and then I don't have to spend my computer time reading and can get right into writing.
LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!
I HAVE AN AWESOME FAMILY!!!!!!
SE QUE ESTA IGLESIA ES VERDADERA :)
TE AMO
HERMANA BRICKER
P.S. THERE IS AN ELDER IN MY DISTRICT THAT REMINDS ME OF JON AND IT'S AWESOME. HE IS SO FUNNY.
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