Angela's Baptism

BROWNSVILLE IS ON FIRE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! THIS AREA IS DOING SOOOOOO GOOD!

Mmmmm that rhubarb salmon sounds delicious!!!! Ricisimo!!!!! Mmm I just love rhubarb! That peanut butter banana bread sounds divine :) This last week I went on a peanut butter fast so I'm excited to pick it up again today :) Mom so tell me about this new diet? How are you losing so much weight? I am coming up to my year mark and I want to lose 15 pounds before I come home. There is more jiggle in my "relief society" arms than ever before haha. Celestial pounds! So tell me about your diet.

OKAY BROWNSVILLE IS ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS AREA IS DOING SOOOOOOO GOOD! GRACIAS A DIOS! Angela's baptism was beautiful. Her mom was telling us about how she suffered from depression and anxiety before, but now that she has started coming to church and learning, it has gone away. Angela said after her baptism "I just feel really light." How awesome :) I love this gospel. I know I can feel that light feeling every time I repent. It is the BEST. She loves young women's and is excited for the activity this week. They are having a "hobo night" with the boys. Haha it actually sounds like a lot of fun. I want to go too!!!

We met two girls this week 16 & 18. They are super cute and LOVE the Book of Mormon. They asked us "everyone talks about Jesus... but is it wrong to doubt that He really exsists?" I just love how God has prepared me for this mission being able to have doubts - but then work them out. Because I have been able to doubt and overcome them, I know how others can do so as well. We talked about how we have two witnesses that Christ came, the Bible and Book of Mormon. They loved it and came to church. Afterwards they said "it was alright..." haha. They will come to like it!!!!! :) One of them is a rock. I want to be like her! We taught her the word of wisdom and she was like "yeah I already do that :)"

Our other investigator came again on Sunday! He sees all the members at school so that is good he is getting fellowshipped well. Hopefully baptism is in his future soon.

Sad news :( Mi hija is going to leave me!!!!!!!! We are having a mini transfer today and Sister Lichfield will go to San Benito and Sister Martinez is coming here. I'm going to miss her! She is the companion I've been with the longest and I just love her cute little guts! Change is good though. I've learned to just know that God has a better plan and so I'm just going to go with it. Sister Martinez is from south Texas and is fluent in Spanish. So I will be with two NATIVAS!!!!!! Wooo hooooo! They are going to help me with my Spanish :)


I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!

HAVE FUN IN MACKAY MOM!!!!!!!!!

It is just beautiful how God knows each and every one of His children.

Thank you soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for the money in my account. I took out some cash today to have on hand if something happens. President emailed us and told us to be ready because there is something brewing in the gulf... or somewhere. Should be fun :)

I can't believe Oly is not there anymore :( :( :( QUE TRISTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope wherever he is at he is loved. Yay I'm glad that you are out of school and got to garden! You deserve some destress garden time... or does that stress you even more? haha. There is something about working with soil and plants that puts me to ease. I'm glad Grandma is doing better. She has been in my prayers.

We had one of the most powerful and spiritual lessons of my mission with one of our investigators this week. We were teaching her the plan... when we got to the part about the Atonement, I had the prompting just to stop and sing "I Stand All Amazed." We had planned a lot of great scriptures and to explain it really well... but we just stopped and sang that song instead. Before the first verse was over, tears were dripping down her face to where she couldn't sing anymore. It is just beautiful how God knows each and every one of His children. He knows what works for each one. She needed that song at that very time and moment to help her understand the Atonement. We invited her to say the prayer right after. It was the most beautiful thing. She just sobbed thanking God for the spirit she felt and all the blessings she has. She plead for forgiveness and to become like a child again (we read Mosiah 3:19 earlier in the lesson). It is just so interesting how more often than not, I am the one being taught in our lessons. I'm just so grateful for the mercy of God.

He shows me through small and simple things each day that He exists and loves me. I have many moments each day that I am in awe of all my blessings. God is good.

The work is going well here :) One of our investigators is getting baptized this Saturday!

Well I love you all and have a gooooooooooooooooooooooooood week :)

Good luck with the new exchange students!

Walking around in the heat is a small price to pay for all that Christ did for me so I will be grateful!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!! Wow those pictures in Joplin look intense! It is a major blessing that Jim is okay and that all those people were inspired to go to the womens bathroom instead of the mens. God is good :) Thanks for the extra 100 dollars! That helps because buying the stuff cost more than I expected. Good news is we found a place called La Michoacana... which is a produce place that sells things for a lot cheaper so I won't have to spend as much on food from now on. I feel like I spend so much on the mission. I don't know what I would do without you Mom and Dad so thanks for always helping me out with those things.

It is getting to be at least 100 degrees each day. It kind of feels like I'm walking around in a sauna all day. But the people are usually super nice and give us water :) I'm very grateful for that. Walking around in the heat is a small price to pay for all that Christ did for me so I will be grateful!!!!

I don't have a lot of time because we have to go teach lessons soon but know that I love you. This week was amazing and full of miracles. God is truly preparing people and bringing families together. I have soooooooo many stories for you that I can't pick and don't have time for all of them. But guess what? One of our investigators who we have been working with forever... told us this week "I think I'm ready to get baptized." We were SOOOOOOOOOOO excited! The next lesson she told us "yeah I already told all my friends I can't go out and drink anymore." We hadn't even taught the word of wisdom yet. So she is progressing along. We met another great woman whose countance shines so bright every time we talk with her. She is definitely one of those people "that is kept from the truth only because they know not where to find it." We met her last week and came to church right away and loved it. She is a CNA and was taking care of a members sister. This member gave her a Book of Mormon and had us go teach her. It is amazing how there are people all around! We would have never talked to her if the member wouldn't have refered her to us.... so I want to be better when I go back at sharing the gospel with everyone.

OKAY GOT TO GO BUT GOD IS SOOOOOO GOOD! HE WORKS MIRACLES!

QUE MILAGRO GRACIAS A DIOS! THANK GOD FOR MIRACLES!

Wow!!!!!!! Sounds like you are having a lot of fun! Mmmm fried ice cream! THE BEST! I'm glad he liked the texas briskit :) I really haven't had any bbq down here. A usual meal consists of corn tortillas, frijoles, pollo and pop! I love it though. I loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Brownsville. Today we are buying kits at the store because hurricane season starts June 1st! YAY! That poetry class sounds awesome! When I was looking at the pictures you sent, I was a little in shock at how green it was. I think when I go back home I'm not going to know what to do with myself... I might even be claustrophobic.

OH MAN THE PACKAGE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much! The cookies were delicious! I liked them a lot. Thanks for the recipe too. The socks are super cute :) I wear them all the time.

Okay voy a ecribirte algo en espanol para que pueda traducir :) TAREA! Esta semana ha sido LLENA de milagros. El Senor nos ha bendicido mucho. CINCO de nuestros investigadores assistieron iglesia ayer. QUE MILAGRO GRACIAS A DIOS! Cinco es mas que hemos tenido en un Domingo. Pero, Edgar no vino :( Tuvimos una leccion bien espiritual... y el nos prometio que iba a venir... pero no vino. Todavia el tiene alguna duda que no sabemos, quizas algo social.
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(Mom's Translation of above paragraph, with a little help from google translate) I am going to write in Spanish so that you can translate :) This week has been full of miracles. The Lord has blessed us very much. Five of our investigators attended church yesterday. THANK GOD FOR MIRACLES! Five is the most we've had on a Sunday. But Edgar did not come:( We had a good spiritual lesson ... and he promised us that he was coming ... but he did not come. Still he has any doubt that we do not know, maybe something social (not sure what she is trying to say in the last sentence).
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With all these blessings that God is giving me, sometimes I get really scared. I get scared that I'm not going to live up to all the blessings He is giving me. I'm continually trying to be better and better so that the Lord can help us in this work. I need so much help. God is so good to us and merciful. I sound like a broken record but I just don't get why He is so good to me sometimes. Life is good.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE AN AWESOME WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

GUESS WHAT?!?!!!!!!!!!!!! I GET TO STAY IN BROWNSVILLE . . .

With my favorite Sister Lichfield and Sister Salan! I am SUPER excited! There are sooooooo many good things going on in Brownsville. I'm glad I get to stay and see the fruits of everything - especially George's baptism. This will be my fourth transfer here and I love it and I love this work! I don't have too much time so I'm going to just write a couple special spirit filled lessons we had this week. Sister Salan is having major back problems right now. She broke it a few years ago and wearing a backpack has been causing her major problems. She has had to stay in with members a lot this week while Sister Lichfield and I go out and work. I feel so bad for her :(

So the first neat experience was with this couple. She is the girlfriend of a less active member. We hadn't talked to them in a while because she stopped wanting us over. She invited us over this week to show us pictures of their wedding and so we went over. As soon as we get there her husband brought up a question about polygamy... apperently they had watched a movie that is out in redbox about the early church and polygamy. He had never known about it before (that the early church leaders practiced it) and so it shook what testimony he had. We told him we would start with the prayer and begin the lesson. Oh man we were praying for the Spirit like no ones business... and it was there. The whole time he was bringing up questions and he printed off his research from the internet to share with us. I wish you could have been there, it was really special. Even though I'm not super well versed with the subject of polygamy and what went on, we were able to share some scriptures - Mosiah 4:9 and by the end of the lesson, without us even saying anything, he took the internet research (aka anti stuff) and crunched it up and threw it in the trash. It is amazing how the spirit can work.

Yesterday we met an athiest while contacting... but the spirit was there. We were trying to ask questions/share scriptures because he was super closed at first. It turns out he was atheist because he was afraid that if there was a God that he would be in a lot of trouble because he killed people when he was in the army. He was really sad about the things he had done in the past and wants them gone. It was a super spiritual lesson. He was asking us.. if there is really a God, why would He let good people be killed and slaughtered in wars? We shared Alma 60:13... it is amazing HOW THE SCRIPTURES ANSWER EVERYTHING!!!!!!!! I CAN'T FINISH THE STORY BUT I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NEXT TIME!!!!

HAVE A GOOD WEEK

LA VIDA ES BUENA!

CAN I JUST TELLL YOU ALL SOMETHING?!

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THE CASTILLO KIDS WERE BAPTIZED YESTERDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And another kid that we are teaching came to the baptism and he was like "I wish I could do that today." It is really true when Christ tells us "be ye as little children." They aren't set in their ways yet and they are just willing to do whatever it takes to come closer to God. They recognize the spirit so much easier than adults.... the only problem is getting the parents permission and support. We are trying to work with his mom so that she can start coming too... but I'm afraid it will be a slow process... but hey I just need faith! Miracles happen with faith :) "miracles follow those that believe"

We hadn't talked to our one investigator AT ALLL the last week because he wasn't progressing... and out of nowhere he shows up a church with a nice dress shirt, slacks, and a tie. He offered to say the first prayer in class and participated a ton. He said "I will do ANYTHING to get baptized - I will give up ANYTHING." He is turning around poco a poco... kind of reminds me of king Lamoni when he says "I will give up all my sins to know thee." I hoooooooooooooooooooooooope so bad that I am here to see his baptism. We find out about transfers Saturday. I think I will leave because I've been here a while and because of our stalker problem.

So we've had a creeper (well basically sister Lichfield) who has been calling us and calling us and calling us to go out to South Padre Island with him and the zoo and the pet shop. Back when we were teaching him (March) he would only let us come over when his wife wasn't home :/ just creepy. We told him he needs to stop calling us... but then when we were teaching in his nieghborhood, he FOLLOWED US IN HIS CAR to our next appointment. When we got out we all were super uncomfortable when we saw him. He said "I just followed you - is this where you live?" WHO DOES THAT?! Luckily we weren't driving home - if he knew where we lived, we would need to move. It was really bad - we all have super uneasy feelings with him. I'm really glad for the rule of companions. We aren't going back to his area anymore.

LA VIDA ES BUENA!

I WISH WE HAD MORE TIME TO TALK BUT SUCH IS LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL AND HOPE ALL IS WELL! THE WORK IS AWESOME AND I AM HAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPY!

I just wish so bad that everyone would have faith, repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end!

Well hello my dear mother and family :) :) :)

SOOOOOOOOO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU! I know I heard about Osama as well! That is cool. I know we are totally away from all news/world things so if it weren't for you we'd be completely oblivious... except for stuff about the drug war. Basically every contact we have, the people talk about how bad the drug war is here at the border. It's sad :( But Heavenly Father is watching out for us here.

Mom the garden sounds like it is going to be AWESOME! Please send some pictures when you can. Haha that is funny about 3 days of straight sunshine... I think I take sunny Texas for granted. Good work inviting all the exchange students to church :) You can tell if something is of God by it's "fruits" and one of those fruits are the meetings at church.

So this week went by SUPER FAST! It was heartbreaking in a lot of ways and successful in a lot of ways. I just care about and love the people sooooooooooooo much that it hurts to see them make bad choices...choices that push them farther away from God. I just wish so bad that everyone would have faith, repent, be baptized, recieve the Holy Ghost and endure to the end! We have to stop working with a lot of people because they are making bad choices... it is sad but we need to spend the Lord's time with the people who are ready. GOOD NEWS though is that the three kids we have been working with are getting baptized next week! On Mother's Day! They were a less active family and none of the kids have been baptized... the Dad is worthy to preform the ordinance so it will be super special. I love going to see baptisms because the spirit is so strong... and I love seeing a congregation of people taking the sacrament because in effect it is the same cleansing process. God is so merciful to let us repent after every mistake we make day after day. No matter how many times we turn our backs on Him, He will always be there with arms outstreched.

There have been a couple of intense lessons this week... kind of like the make it or break it lessons. I know that God's ways are not man's ways (Mosiah 4:9). No matter how much we try and reason with our own logic - ultimitly the only way we are going to know of spiritual/Godly things is through the Spirit.

"The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God... but the natural man recieveth not the things of the spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." 1 Corinthians 2:11, 14

We can know if God exists/if this church is true/if we should get baptized/etc., if we seek guidance by the Spirit. Whatever problems we have we can receive guidance from the spirit. Okay I don't know where I'm going with this but we still have to shop and clean clothes so I'll talk to you Sunday!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE YA!

Greater happiness than you have yet experienced awaits you on your mission.

What Bishop K is leaving?! Que triste!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's just following where the Lord is guiding him I guess :) At least I got to see him down here in Brownsville before he left haha. Do they know who the new bishop is? That is exciting about Zach! How fun! He has quite a journey ahead of him. Being a missionary is something indescribable... you just have to go through it to know. He will be great! I remember reading on my call letter "greater happiness than you have yet experienced awaits you on your mission." It is so true...something that you realize gradually but soooooo true. I'm so happy here :)

That is fun! You decorated eggs with the exchange students? Awesome! Did you hide some with money too? I missed our cookie crisp filled eggs this year :) I loved opening our cereal eggs and eating them for breakfast! Actually I didn't miss them until just now - I think as you get further into a mission, you just don't have time to miss things... haha. But that sounds like a blast! We ate your Cadbury eggs that you sent :) I like the mini ones better because they are just the right size. For Easter the investigator we have been working with for a while came to both the SPANISH and ENGLISH and the baptism after church. He was there from 9am-5pm, just like we were. He was suprized at what a big program it was to have a baptism. He said to Sister Lichfield "Wow this is different. In the army we all just lined up and were dunked under - in and out in 5 minutes." haha

After church, a member invited us over to dinner with the Elders. It was DELICIOUS! Ham, mashed potatoes, and carrots...felt like home :) I'm not used to all this American food! She gave us those chocolate bunnies afterward... I ate half of it on the way home and was feeling pretty sick after... but chocolate is soooooooo good!

Okay now that I just spent a paragraph of my precious email talking about food... haha... let me just tell you how grateful I am for the Lord. I make so many mistakes each day but His mercy and atonement are always there waiting as I repent. A neat experience we had this week was talking with an older man, probably in his 70's. He doesn't have teeth and when he smiles with his little Mexican moustache it is so cute! But anyway, he told us that he has been trying to find the true church all his life but he just hasn't found it. Everytime we come by he says, "Sorry girls it's just not a good time right now, another day." But he is such a talker that we'll be there for an hour each time - so we just ignore that by now and start teaching haha. We taught the restoration and why he needs to be baptized again. He then went back and thought about his Mom. He told us the story about how she always said to them growing up "I will NEVER change my religion from Catholic. I will never change and neither will you." Then he said later on when she was 55 she ended up changing churches. Later on he asked her why she changed after all and she told him, "I never had a relationship with God when I was going to that church... I didn't talk with Him or know who He was until I joined the _________ church" and then he paused to think and said, "I think it was called something like 'The Church of Jesus Christ of the Last Days'..." When he said that I felt the spirit SO strong. His mom found the truth and made the change a while ago and now he is too. We explained to him "Manuel this church is the very same church that your Mom joined." Ahhh it was AWESOME! At the end before we left he so cutely said "Don't wave the victory flag yet, but I just might be joining your church."

I know the Lord works in our lives. I know things happen for a reason. I love you so much mama! I love you too family and friends that read this. God is real.


HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Repentance: I don't think I've ever been more fascinated with something before in my life. I want to study it ALL the time.

WE JUST WENT TO PICK UP YOUR PACKAGE!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED ALL OF IT! ESPECIALLY THE GLUTEN FREE GOOOOOOOOOODNESS! I'm really excited to take over your card and picture for our investigator. He needs it really bad. He did not get baptized this week :( He needs more time to get things figured out. Thank you SO much for your prayers. I really appreciate it and I know he does too. We had to call him and let him know that he needs to show God on his own that he is ready to make this step. He wasn't doing the most basic things on his own (like reading/praying) so we told him that this week he is on his own to read and to pray and get himself closer to God. We have worked and worked and worked with him... but ultimitly it is up to him to make the little decisions of reading instead of watching TV... going to bed early so you can get up for church instead of barbequeing all night long. He told us last night on the phone "don't feel like you are failures. You did everything right, I just need to get there... I KNOW I'm going to get baptized one day... I just need to get serious and do it." He'll get there someday, I know it. He just needs some time to reflect and realize that he needs that spirit each day....and the only way to do it is through prayer and scripture and taking the sacrament. Someday :)

Other good news!!!! We are working with some part member families right now who are awesome and should get baptized next month. I'm really excited for Easter coming up. They are preparing a cool sacrament meeting.

IT'S SISTER SALAN'S BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAY! I LOVE HER!

Okay creepy moment: so we just got done with planning in our apartment... and our window was open with the blinds closed over it. We just heard something screaming outside... and we figured it was probably just the stray cats fighting (because there are like 15 at our apartments). Hearing the scream lead Sister Lichfield to a topic of some scary story. While she was telling it I thought I heard somethng outside of the window... and I was like there is probably nothing there, but I was like "I'll check anyway, why not?" So I crawl over to the blinds and open them and sure enough there was a man directly outside of our window listening to us and when we saw him he just walked away. Who knows why he was there... maybe he was just some kid listening but it was kind of freaky that he was so close to our open window just standing there... we don't open our windows anymore hahaha. The Lord protected us though! Like always!!!

Okay this is the most random email everrrrrrrrrrrrrr! HALF WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAZY HUH?! TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE PREACHING THE GOSPEL!

Note from Mom: Our Ward Bishopric asked for Mary to provide her testimony to share over the pulpit. Here is what she wrote:

There are two things made possible by the Savior that I have really come to love on my mission. The first is repentance. I don't think I've been more fascinated with something before in my life. I want to study it ALL the time. It is so beautiful to me that even though we make mistake after mistake we can become clean, without blemish. Like the sons of Mosiah, even the most vilest of sinners can be forgiven... even me as a regular person there are so many things that I am working on - I commit the same little sins over and over again but through God's mercy I can repent and He will remember them no more. Repenting should really become a favorite pastime :)

The second is partaking of the sacrament. I have never partaken of it so meaningfully as I have the past few months. There is a true promise in the sacrament prayer that we will have Christ's spirit to be with us. I know that is true. If we take the sacrament, we will have the spirit of Him to abide with us. I know that is the only way I have been able to overcome the challenges and hardships of serving a mission.

I know that no matter where we are in life, God has a plan for us. He knows what He wants us to become. He is putting experiences in our path so that we can reach our true potential. Sometimes we trip and fall along the way, but I know through repenting and taking the sacrament, we can just keep going on that path to eternal life. I love you all for the examples you have been to me in my life. You have all helped me get to where I am today.

I love this gospel with all my heart!!!!!



HAVE A GOOD EASTER!

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST ROLLERCOASTERS OF MY MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL HOLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

COMO ESTA MAMA Y FAMILIA? Estoy bien aqui en Tejas. Estoy viviendo la vida! La vida es muy buena aqui... estoy predicando y quemando :)

My goal this month was to budget my money well for once! So I want to stay within my $120. So I have $12 dollars to spend each week on food for the rest of the month! Lentils, apples, bananas and peanut butter! I can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The members are so nice here though so we have dinner a lot this week! I never knew how much coin laundry takes up money! Hijole!

Saturday was our walking day and it felt like we were in the desert of the Sahara! I thought I was hallucinating a little bit... but instead of an oasis... baptismal fonts... haha just kidding. But really it was SUPER hot - I put sunscreen on though :) Soy negrita ahora (as Sister Salan would say). Sister Lichfield forgot to put some on her neck and it was seriously purple by the end of the day. Yay for Texas!!!!!!

Sister Salan is awesome. She is helping our Spanish out and teaching us all the Guatamalan phrases... and guess what?! SHE IS A CHEF! Really she went to school and everything so I'm going to learn how to make some Guatamalan masterpieces for you! And we have one more place we can stop on our South American tour :) We were talking with this man and we were setting up a return appointment... I wrote down all our names on the back of the pamphlet and gave it to him. He was looking at them and all of a sudden said "Woah, wait a minute... who is Sister Satan?!" hahaha we explained to him that her name was SALAN not SATAN haha and he said "Oh okay... that is better. I was going to say, maybe I was talking with the wrong people if her name was Satan."

Okay so let me tell you something.... THIS WEEK HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST ROLLERCOASTERS OF MY MISSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't exactly tell you why over email but maybe when you call for mother's day :) But all is well hopefully! I've never come to appreciate the Atonement of Jesus Christ so much in my life and also for the lives of others. The one investigator has been a rollercoaster. I called to tell him yesterday that we couldn't come over anymore until he lived the Word of Wisdom... and he broke down and practically begged us to keep his baptismal date for this coming Sunday. We told him that he would have to be willing to act RIGHT NOW and give it all up. He agreed. We called the District Leader and we had his interview and he passed. The Elders gave him a blessing of strength to give everything up. The spirit was strong. He is having a hard time because that is the culture of his family - to drink/smoke/party... there are temptations basically everywhere. If you could keep him in your prayers this week that would be AWESOME! He needs all the Heavenly help he can get. I know he'll get baptized this Sunday and I'm SUPER SUPER EXCITED FOR HIM! He has been the investigator with the biggest lifestyle change that I've worked with.

Pues... que mas? We are just working working working and trying not to burn! I love you so much mom! Thanks for your support and prayers always. I love being a missionary. I want you and Dad to feel this someday too! You will love it mom! Well you are already a missionary but you'd love to serve full time.

LOVE YOU AND THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!!!!!!!!!!

It didn't come when I was on my knees, but while I was on my feet working for the Lord.

That sounds like such a funny trip with Anna and Andrew. Of course, somebody always has to throw up on trips. I always remember that one story Debbie told of when Connor ate a whole bag of starbursts. After he puked them all up, Debbie said "that was the best smelling puke ever!" haha. I have everyone's pictures up on the wall over my desk... Sister Lichfield always looks at the ones of Anna and Andrew eating their mexican candies and admires their toe-headed cuteness!

BY THE WAY I GET TO STAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY I'M SO EXCITED! I get to stay here with Sister Lichfield and we will be getting Sister Salan. She is from Guatamala :) I'm excited! Hopefully she will teach me how to make some delicious things ;) I'm really excited I will get to stay here to see the baptism of an investigator we have been working with for a while. Oh and we went by last night and his mom joined our lesson... we invited her to work towards this step with her son and she said she'd prepare for baptism as well :) There are such great things happening in this area!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The field is white my dear family!

Conference was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved a lot of the talks. I especially liked what Uchtdorf said... something like "I don't usually recieve answers to prayers while I'm on my knees, but rather while I'm on my feet working for the Lord." I loved that! As missionaries our prayers are often "help us find the people who are ready for this message." So many times before the mission, I heard amazing stories about people just seeing in a dream the house that they needed to knock on or something like that... but it doesn't happen that way (well sometimes in special occasions :)! The answers to our prayers come when we get out there and work and are obedient. I've been asking God lots of questions lately because it has been hard for us to help people get to baptism. The answers never came while I was praying... but the next day we were teaching a lesson and Sister Lichfield was bearing testimony to the investigator and what she said TOTALLY answered my question. It didn't come when I was on my knees, but while I was on my feet working for the Lord. It is just funny how you never know who your testimony is going to touch... or when it is going to be an answer to someone's prayer. I really love that quote of President Uchtdorf. We need to just keep pressing forward and answers will come!

I PRAY FOR YOU ALL ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lord just opened the flood gate of miracles

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO we just got back from the Zoo and we only have like ten minutes to write. THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOL ABOUT ANTERO's FAMILY! That is going to be the biggest blessing in their life. Next pday we are going over to Hermana Garcia's house and she is going to show us how to make Tamales con frijoles (en vez de carne... MEJOR! Y RICO). Estoy BIEN animada!

Okay but really this week was AWESOME! The time keeps flying by. I feel like each Monday comes sooooooo fast... I'm like "wait a minute... we just had Monday like yesterday." This week the Lord just opened up the flood gate of miracles. Our one investigator is doing great. He is putting God as a priority in his life. He got invited to go to the beach this Sunday.... but instead of skipping he came to the EARLY session of church because he didn't want to miss it! YAY! He is also praying on his own. He has some hard things to give up before he is baptized...but he will get there - I know it! He is preparing to be baptized on Easter next month :)

I'm grateful for how merciful the Lord is... He is always watching out for us. I know He knows our thoughts and our hearts and is just waiting for us to be obedient so He could bless us. I love the Book of Mormon. There are sooooooo many answers in that book.

I love peanut butter and I love YOU!

I wish I were a grapefruit... and here's the reason why... when you'd try to eat me... I'd squirt you in the eye.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TRANSFER CALLS THIS WEEEK! I HOPE SIS LICHFIELD AND I STAY! BUT WHATEVER THE LORD WANTS!

WOAH COOL TRUCK!!!!!!! Maddy looks so thin!!!!!! That is awesome - she must be hiking :) What a nice jacket she has on :) haha I'm glad she is putting my clothes to good use while I'm gone.

Well hello there mother!!!!!! That is sad that you had to say goodbye to another exchange student. I feel the same way about all my companions! We literally spend every second of every day together for 6 weeks and then we have to part ways :/ It is hard sometimes. Sister Lichfield has been a huge tender mercy in my life. I looooooooooooooooooooooooooove working with her and I hope we can stay another transfer together here. ME ENCANTA BROWNSVILLE!

SO A MIRACLE HAPPENED THIS WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!! We went to go see one of our investigators because it had been about two weeks since we had seen him. He wasn't there but later he sent us a text that said "guess what? ...I don't have anything planned for sunday" so we were like "well does that mean you are coming to church?" "...duh" (haha he is sassy sometimes). It was really great that he came - he brought his Bible and Book of Mormon in hand and was marking all the scriptures during Sacrament Meeting. When we called later to see how he liked it he said "I'm already planning on going next week... if anyone wants to do anything, I'm going to tell them no and that I'm going to church. I really need to get back to God in my life... especially before 2012 comes." haha I'm pretty sure he was joking about the 2012 but who knows. So yaya!!!!!! I hope that he will get serious about this... but it is looking good so far.

Sister Lichfield and I worked really hard this week. We accidently got lost and were basically driving along the river separating Mexico and the US.. it was pretty sketchy but God helped us out and we are still alive :) yay! We taught a lot of lessons and invited lots of people to follow Christ and be baptized.... I'm not so sure anymore how to have a normal conversation without mentioning one of the steps of the Gospel haha but I love it. You would be proud of Sister Lichfield because you know how I always forget to put sunscreen on? I was texting an investigator (haha sorry Sarah) and she attacked me and put sunscreen on my arms and face. I told her that you would be really grateful for that because I never do. It is really weird to hear Jon still talk about snow because it is like in the 80's here all the time.

I just want to tell you as a normal regular person that I still am... how grateful I am for the abilty to repent. I think sometimes as missionaries we just get so caught up in helping others understand the steps of the gospel, that we don't take time to live it ourselves. This week I have been pondering more on my own personal relationship with God and how I can make it stronger. I am trying to really reflect on what I can do to be better y arripentirme por mis culpas. I'm so grateful for the Atonement of Christ - that no matter what we do - He wants us to be free of that burden/guilt.

I love you alllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!! I pray for you daily. Hope all is well! I'm jealous you get to talk with Anna! Tell Scott that I said hola :)

p.s. today we are going to the zooooooo!

Here in Brownsville the Lord has blessed us TREMENDOUSLY!

Gracias Madre para las noticias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No tengo mucho tiempo hoy! Necesitamos ir y trabajar pronto pero... thanks soooooo much for telling me about Chelsea! I have only heard a little bit about what happened in Japan but I heard that it was DEVASTATING. I was worried about Chelsea so it was really exciting that she is okay! Honestly I have no doubt that we are in the last days and these natural disasters will just keeping getting worse and worse. The people there will be in my prayers.

Basically all the week we were in McAllen for leadership training. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! I LEARNED SOOOOO MUCH! The Spirit was there and I was able to learn a lot about how I can better help investigators come to know these things for themselves. I got to see all the old sister again and we stayed at the mission home. Sister Trayner is always so nice and buys me gluten free things to eat :) They take good care of us!

Here in Brownsville the Lord has blessed us TREMENDOUSLY! He placed two amazing families in our paths this week. One of them (a mom and her daughter) came to church this Sunday and LOVED it! Hopefully things will progress and they can make it to baptizm. Sad to say our other investigator did not come to church again :/ We had to turn him over to the Lord because he wasn't keeping commitments... he'll be baptized someday - I know it!

That is SO cool that Antero's mom is taking the discussions!!!!!! Tell everyone hello!!!!!!!!! You're in my prayers! SIEMPRE!

LES QUIERO

It is always something big when the President calls. . .

Estaba muy soprendida cuando escuche a nuestros mensajes... y tuvimos una mensaje del Obispo! We were driving home from a lesson at night and I looked and saw that we had two voicemails... when I saw we got a missed call from President Trayner I was like "ohhhh no something is going to happen/change!" because it is always something big when the President calls. Then we listened to it and he said Bishop K was here and I got sooooo excited!!!!!!! It was a lot of fun!!!!!!! He took us to Texas Roadhouse - muy rico! It was kind of weird to see someone from home haha but it was really nice just to spend time with him and hear the update on everyone back home. He told me that the ward has 7 missionaries out right now - AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY FOR RENEWING OUR COVENANTS WHEN TAKING THE SACRAMENT! That is something we've really been focusing on as missionaries when inviting people to churhc - the Sacrament. There is great promise and power in that ordinance... that we can have Christ's spirit with us ALWAYS.

Well we had a great week and lessons with our investigator....but then he texted us Saturday night saying "i won't be able to make it to church tomorrow." We were devastated... we haven't been able to talk with him since to see what happened. He isn't ready at this point in his life but I know he will be someday. He is great - I hope you can meet him someday. I WANT YOU AND DAD TO COME DOWN SO I CAN INTRODUCE YOU TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...or we can save money and do a south america tour and visit all the exchange students :)

Even though basically everyone that has been progressing here is now NOT progressing - the Lord has blessed us with more ready people!!!! He is so good like that! We have lots of great potential members of Christ's church that we are working with. However next week will be slow work wise because I have to go to a three day training in McAllen... which means I won't be here in Brownsville at all. I could be staying with Sister Villalobos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!! It is so fun to be able to see old companions again. They all just become like sisters :)

So some highlights of the week:
-We got kicked out of some apartment complexes...poor Sister Lichfield, her first full week gets kicked out of a place... haha that's the life though :)
-Rode bikes all Saturday and it was the first time I got to use my bike in rugged terrain... it was super fun! The wind was blowing my skirt everywhere haha but luckily I have leggings on underneath
-While running in the morning I tripped and fell... AGAIN
-Dinner with bishop
-New companion training in McAllen - got to see Sister Boyle again :)
-Met MARCOS and Geraldo who are awesome!
-Sister Sanchez fed us the most DELICIOUS tacos
-I got to talk at the baptizm of PENELOPE... who is AMAZING! and will probably be famous someday...the Elder's were teaching her, she is 18 and has a rock solid testimony

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH AND THANKS FOR SAYING HELLO TO NICKI!!!!!!!!! I JUST GOT HER PACKAGE TODAY AND LOOOOOOOOOVED IT! SHE IS AWESOME

It is a tender mercy to be a part of this work

Okay well thank you for that reminder that I need to have more gratitude in my life. I am grateful for my AWESOME and supportive family!!! I'm grateful to be able to spend a year and a half of my life not worrying about the things of the world. I am grateful that God has been so good to me everyday of my life. I am grateful that George wants to come back on the path to God. I am grateful that Sister Lichfield and I are going to get DQ blizzards today :)

This week was pretty good! Sister Lichfield is AWESOME! She is basically training ME. She is so on top of everything and is very excited and focused on the work. I'm learning a lot from her about how to really focus studies on the investigators. It has been really fun to have her with me this past week. I think the more you are on a mission the more you start to take things for granted... like finding someone who is interested and wants to learn more... she was so cutely excited! And it is just something that I do everyday - its still exciting of course - but I have just been taking it for granted.

No one came to church this week :( Hijole! No se que paso. We talked to one of our investigators afterward and he said his phone got wet and the alarm didn't go off... we are working on getting him an alarm clock hahaha. He has a great heart and wants to change, it is just a slow and patient process. He told us that he hasn't prayed on his own for many years because he feels unworthy. It was so sad for me to hear that... that is when we need to pray the most!!!! Just like the story of the prodigal son... God is waiting for each one of His children to come back. He is just waiting to run and meet us and give us a big hug. God's hand is always extended out towards us.

It is a tender mercy to be a part of this work. I'm so very grateful. It is hard but I'm learning so much. I can't believe next week I'll be out 8 months! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..

So funny story... in Spanish ward, the ward chorister (I don't know how to spell that and don't have time to look it up sorry haha) was out of town this Sunday. The bishop looks out in the congregation and asks one of us sister missionaries to get up and lead...because I'm sure he just assumes that we know what we are doing haha. We are all singing without piano... and I had NO IDEA what this song was, ESPECIALLY in Spanish. So I was thinking to myself "okay we'll just go with it and hopefully everyone knows that song because I don't." So we started singing..... HAHAHAHAHA it was sooooooooo bad! I was like trying to read the notes and sing the tune but had no idea what it was and niether did anybody else... so after about 10 seconds of trying to make it work the Bishop just puts up his hands and says "VAMOS A CAMBIAR EL HIMNO" and we changed to a hymn that we actually all knew and it went much better. It was just a funny experience. I'm pretty sure my face was bright red.

WELL I LOVE YOU ALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND I LOVE BROWNSVILLE

TELL SISTER SMITH AT HOME THAT I LOVED THE TALK AND SCRIPTURE MARKERS

TELL GRANDMA THAT I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVED HER LETTER AND SCOTCHEROOS!

Even though people may think that their efforts go no where - THEY DO! We are working with two people right now who had seeds planted many years ago

So good to hear from you!!!!!!!!!!! GUESS WHAT???? I FINALLY GET TO STAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M STAYING IN BROWNSVILLE... and... training a brand new missionary that came from the MTC! I'm super excited. Her name is Brittany Lichfield... which is funny because I know Brittany Lichfield from back home :) Maybe they are related or something? She is awesome and I'm really excited to work with her. She is coming at a good time because the area is really picking up here. We have a lot of things we need to work through with people but good things are going to happen here. It is really fun to have her around because she is just so darn excited to get out there and work and talk with people. I LOVE IT! I just hope I can be good trainer for her.

I'm trying to think of what happened this week.... my mind has seriously been a blur. This week has been crazy. I guess I'll just say that I know that it is by small and simple things that great things come to pass. We are teaching someone right now whose friend introduced him to the gospel looooooooooong ago and he just brushed him off.. but now that we are teaching him, he still remembers what his friend had shared with him. He still remembered the life that his friend lived and the example he was. It is the same with one of my other investigators who had a LDS friend in the military. He said everyone used to make fun of him all the time for not drinking/swearing or whatever... but remembered what he stood for... and remembered basically the whole restoration and scriptures his friend shared. Even though people may think that their efforts go no where - THEY DO! We are working with two people right now who had seeds planted many years ago by members. Small and simple things...

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!!

I HAD ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL EXPERIENCES IN MY MISSION THIS WEEK . . .

MAMA!

Tu espanol es perfecto! Gracias por escribiendome en espanol! Te doy gracias por su carta. Siempre me da alegria oir de ti. Espero que tu examen fuera bien.

I can relate to Dad a little bit... because I had the first accident on my mission this week hahaha. Can you believe I made it 7 months without crashing on my bike or having some kind of bruise inflicting activity? ITS A RECORD! The Lord has blessed me :) haha. So we went for an appointment... and the person wasn't there. We were walking to go contact and all of a sudden, slowly but surely I tripped and went straight to the ground. My companions looked back and were like "Sister Bricker what happened?!" I told them I have no idea!!!!! I looked back to see what it was that I tripped on... and there was nothing! haha of course. The ground was up maybe a half an inch... I'm just clumsy... I got a cool bruise on my knee though YAY!

I had one of the most special experiences in my mission this week in a lesson with one of our investigators. We were in the church for our lesson and we invited him to pray for the first time. It was so sincere and beautiful. He really wants to know if God exists. We then went on with the lesson. Then he inturupts in the middle and asks us "I don't know what you think about this but I would like to say another prayer." And we were like OF COURSE! So we all knelt down together and he said the prayer - this time in his native language which is Italian. Even though I didn't know what he was saying, I could feel him pouring his whole heart out to God. The spirit was very strong. He is still searching for his "pista" or clue... but at our last visit in his prayer he said "Thank you for the pistas I am beginning to see more and more each day... I don't know what your angels are like but I imagine them to be like the Sisters you sent me." It was really special. Step by step!

Another investigator who came to church many times with us told us this week that she doesn't want us to read from the Book of Mormon anymore... and that it makes her uncomfortable. She talked to her padrino (Godfather) and he was counseling her not to read it... so that is a bummer :(

We met another AWESOME investigator this week. (I've never taught so many men before on my mission - this is a different experience). He is SUPER stoked for all the things we are teaching. When we came for our first appointment... he had to throw a birthday party last minute and so we offered to help him cook. I learned how to make some AWESOME guacamole and these really yummy appetizers which Dad and Jeff would love. What you do is clear out a green chili pepper and stuff it with cream cheese... then wrap it in bacon... and grill it! IT WAS DELICIOUS! I'll make it when I get back. After all his family came and gathered them up so we could tell them about the restoration!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahaha cool huh?! It is a different experience to have a crowd. But they all kind of left after they got food and he was the only one listening/participating... but he came to church the next day and LOVED IT! He was raising his hand and making all sorts of good comments. Tomorrow we'll talk to him about why he needs to be baptized again and set a date!

GOD IS GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has blessed us with lots of success in this area. Things are really blooming. We get calls about transfers on Saturday *crossing fingers I'll stay* haha

I LOVE YOU ALL AND PRAY FOR YOU!

HAPPY DAY OF LOVE!

JOHN 15:13

We Are Just Getting Lost in the Work

That is super exciting about Zach!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell him congrats for me. Is Phil going too?

I'm excited to try and speak Spanish with the exchange students when I get back :) :) :) Thanks to Heavenly Father's help, Spanish is getting a little bit easier to understand and speak. I'm not PRO by any means, but I survive and can communicate the Lord's message. Oh my goodness... for some reason we have been going in wrong directions lately and have almost gone to Mexico like three times haha.

OH MY IT WAS FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZING HERE!!!!!!!!!! It is never supposed to get like below 50 here in the winter but last week it was 28!!!!!!!!! I was NOT prepared for this weather haha! EVERYONE WAS FREAKING OUT! A couple days before, while we were contacting, we saw everyone covering their trees and plants with plastic... and we were thinking "hmm that is kind of weird," then sure enough it got FREEZING. We literally had nothing for the cold. I gave away all my thick skirts because I was sure I'd never need them. We made an emergency Walmart trip to get clothes... but all they had were swimsuits! haha no gloves/scarves/nothing... well we were at least able to buy tights which made all the difference. We just basically wore all the clothes we had - we wore our sweatpants under our skirts and rolled them up so you couldn't see :) They closed school for 2 days here... just because it was 32 degrees... funny huh?! We took pictures because there were little icicles next to our TEXAS license plate. I'm going to send it to Jon because they are cooler then his New York icicles. While contacting everyone was like "what are you doing?!?! go home!!!!" haha.

We are teaching a lot of awesome people right now. One of them is athiest. He LOVES learning. He said "time with you always goes by way too fast!" He told us that since he has been to the US, Christians have been trying to get him to come to church and keep telling him "you have a dark spirit, come to church!" and that really turned him off to religion... but then he saw the Elder's from the church and how happy they were all the time. He was like "they do the same thing day in and day out and say the same things over and over... but the difference with them is that they are HAPPY when they do it... and so I thought there must be something different about that church." And now we are teaching him and he loves it all! He asks lots of good questions and wants to learn.

We had Stake Conference up in Harlingen. It was awesome! I got to see my Raymondville family :) Sister Carlso and Nelson were there so it was fun to catch up with them. They told me that Crystal got baptized!!!!!! (we were teaching her last transfer). They are having lots of success up there which is exciting. It is always fun to hear from old companions... did I tell you that I found out that the Perez kids got baptized after I left???????! SO COOL!

The package was awesome! Thanks so much. We are just getting lost in the work here.

Love,
Hermana Bricker

THERE ARE RECORD BAPTISMS HERE IN THE TMM MISSION!

Yay for chimichanga feast! That is awesome! I do looooooooooooooooooooove chimigchangas! :) I have yet to try one here in Tejas but SOON hopefully! I still don't think I'd like them as much as yours though! That is a really neat story about the man who lived in Bulgaria. The Lord works in mysterious but awesome ways :)

This week I got worse with my cold. The blessing was that the Lord was able to sustain me through it so that I could work each day. I didn't have to stay in at all but I was a little out of it haha... but luckily I have two companions :) I FEEL GREAT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M HEALTHY AGAIN YAY!!!!!!!!!!! GRACIAS A DIOS! As we say down here :)

So this week has been one of ups and downs. I'm finally beginning to feel the "rollarcoaster of emotions" that my friends always said they had on their missions. As I have been out longer on the mission... I'm really starting to understand and feel the weight and importance of THIS MESSAGE. You know my personality... before it was like "whatever makes you happy go with it... but I know this will make you happiest." but now the Lord has helped me be more bold and tell the people "THIS is the way." I really feel like the past couple of weeks have been a test of my attributes. I think Heavenly Father just went straight down the list "Okay let's test her on Charity... okay check... how about patience... okay check.... Knowledge... okay check." It has been hard. I always thought I was a pretty patient person... but not anymore haha. It is really true that the Lord will show us our weaknesses. My patience was tested by many of our investigators this week. They were awesome and wanted to get baptized and I was SO EXCITED FOR THEM... but then a few days later they don't want anything to do with us. It was rough. I don't get it... but someday they will be ready... I just need patience.

The Lord blessed us BASTANTE yesterday. I feel like He just opened the gates of Heaven and just started pouring awesome and ready people into our paths. We have been trying to get one investigator to come to church for WEEKS now... we went yesterday to tell him that we can't come by anymore to visit him if he wouldn't come to church... but then he opened the door with his nice shirt and slacks on ready for church. Haha we were SUPER surprised and happy about that. He told me "it was hard to get here but now that I'm here I really like it... I have a lot to do to get ready for baptism" AWWW!

Then this week we were walking out of our apartment to start the day... some people started talking to Sis. Zamora while I was going to get in the car... but then I FORGOT THE KEYS IN THE APARTMENT AND IT WAS LOCKED (of course :) you know me). So I go to join the conversation with these two older women who were speaking Spanish... it turns out that they had been praying to God for help with their situation and looking for missionaries and then saw us :) One of them came to church THAT Sunday which was fast and testimony Sunday... and she got up to bear her testimony... her FIRST Sunday there! How cool huh! We had to turn her over to the Elders because she doesn't live in our area, but it was cool to see the Lord working in our lives and putting people in our path... and making me lock us out so we had time to talk to them :)

YES I BELIEVE IT ABOUT THE BAPTISMS!!!!!!! THERE ARE RECORD BAPTISMS HERE IN THE TMM MISSION! This month of January there were 114 people who were baptized here in south Texas!

LET US ALL PRESS ON!

LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!

I LOVE LIFE AND I'M EXCITED FOR YOUR PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!

la vida es buena