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

I'm so blessed to be working down here where the people are receptive to the word of God

Thanks for the prayers! I need them!!!! I loved reading your email mom. Necisita escribirme mas en espanol para practicar :) Como le fue su exam? Esta practicando con los exchange students? Le gusta mi texmex? :)

I type my favorite exclamation to say in spanish but I don't know how to spell it... I'll type it phenetocally... E-WHOLE-A (using english prononciation) it means "OH MY!"

The whole week I wasn't really feeling well - I thought I might have a tape worm or something haha but then yesterday I started to feel better.... but then I woke up this morning with a sore throat entonces I'm going to buy emergence at Walmart today! But I should be okay.

I learned many lessons this week. I learned that even when you think you just can't take your trials ANY LONGER... you can. For some reason it had just been hard the past couple weeks.... I just wasn't feeling good and I didn't feel like the work was going anywhere. After we got back from emailing last week I just went to the bathroom and got down on my knees and poured my heart out to Dios letting Him know that I NEED HIS HELP. No matter how old I get or how independent I think I am - I CAN'T LIVE THIS LIFE WITHOUT HIS HELP. Were things instantly better after that prayer? No. But I kept moving and pressing forward in faith that things were going to get better... and the next day was awesome! I didn't feel much better but we were able to talk with Liz and she wants to be baptized! YAY! For some reason after that lesson I had a HUGE burden lifted off my shoulders and I could feel the hand of the Lord just pushing me along. I know He gives us trials and hard times for a reason... in this instance to keep me humble and leaning on Him. I know He will help us - He doesn't give us more than we can handle...only really close to it :) But that is how we grow.

Presidente and Sister Trayner came by to our apartments for interviews on Friday. It was nice to talk with them and get words of counsel/wisdom from President Trayner. He said I'm going to stay in Brownsville for a while... unless the Lord tells him otherwise so we'll see this next transfer :)

I'm excited for your package!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I need some good gluten free things! My companions have been eating a lot of delicious WHEATY breads and so it has been super hard becuase it smells SO GOOD!

Yesterday was a REALLY special experience. In the two wards in Brownsville yesterday, EIGHT people entered into the waters of baptism. It was really special to see that many people take turns and walk down into the baptisimal font. The spirit was super strong. It made me think of D&C 4 how the field is white ALREADY TO HARVEST. I'm so blessed to be working down here where the people are receptive to the word of God... there are people out there ready. We are working hard to find them and working with FAITH that they are out there. It is hard sometimes when we haven't had anyone very serious for a while but they are out there!

D&C 103:12

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This year is going to go by super fast. I can already feel it. Keep moving forward and read those scriptures :)

Good luck in school mom and tell everyone I said hello!

IT POURED ALL DAY LONG!!!! It felt just like home :)

Thank you for your email. I really needed that last sentence that says "although sometimes we can get discouraged because we can't hit the bullseye, it's no reason to give up. The arrows are free, through Christ, we get to repent and keep on trying to do better." This week has been hard. We had a zone meeting where our leaders told us that if we aren't meeting our goals it is OUR fault... no excuses... we can't blame no one coming to church on anyone but ourself... we just need to repent and think of what we need to do differently. I have been thinking of all the things that I need to do better as a missionary and it has been really overwhelming for me... you know me I don't usually let things get to me but this week I have and it was hard. So it was good to read that reminder that we just do our best and the Lord will make up the rest.

Monday we couldn't email because the library was closed and yesterday we were SUPER SICK. It was my first day being sick on the mission. Sister Zamora and I were puking all night :/ Those moments are never fun but they bring me closer to my Savior because in those moments I am humble. In those moments I realize that I need help. We stayed in all yesterday and slept...and tried to study when we had energy. I'm feeling better today but still just the crummy after effects.

YAY YOU DID THE FHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm glad that went well! Sarah and Debbie are going to prepare? That is awesome. What about Chris/Jeff/Steve/Mike? Thanks for doing that. I hope you all could feel the spirit and my love for you all!

Brownsville! Well it has been a transition from Raymondville... a lot bigger haha. My new address is:

2425 Barnard Rd #33B
Brownsville, TX 78520

We are basically starting from square one here. We have one progressing investigator. She is a girlfriend of a less-active member here. She really wants to know for herself if these things are true. She has good questions and real intent. I know she will get her answer about this gospel soon. There is a lot more Spanish here which is fun. People walk to Mexico all the time becuase it is only a couple miles south (like walking from our house to downtown Oly). Saturday is our walking day... and for the first time in my whole mission it POURED ALL DAY LONG!!!!! It felt just like home :) haha except I wasn't prepared with any rain gear so I was SOAKED.. but it was fun. No one really wanted to let us in though becuase we were wet :) OH well! Ni modo!

Your pictures look AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad you all had a good time together. I am so grateful for the support and love you give me every day. I NEED IT!!!!!!!!!! I am very appreciative for all of you.

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

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M BEING TRANSFERRED AGAIN!

I KNOW I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M BEING TRANSFERED AGAIN! This seriously never happens. I thought I was staying for sure. When we got the phone call, the zone leader said "okay Sister Carlos and Sister Nelson..." and I thought he was going to say "are leaving" but then he said "are staying...and Sister Bricker is going to Brownsville." Crazy. We freaked out. As always, I love my area and will miss it a ton (dejavu AGAIN haha) but again I know it is for a reason and God has other plans instore for me. I will be in Brownsville with Sister Zamora and Sister Boyle. I have met them both before and are super fun so I it will be a blast to serve with them. I have been out the longest out of the three of us so President has assigned me as Senior Companion :O Uh oh! Brownsville is basically 70% Spanish and 30%English so I'm excited to work on my spanish more...

I have been thinking about getting moved around so much... and trying not to think "why" but "what can I learn from this?" I think what I have learned the most is that no matter where I am or where I go or what situations I'm in... the Lord always provides. He always takes care of me and knows exactly what I need. In these changes I remember that it is upon HIM that I need to build my foundation (Helamen 12:14... I think?). Everytime I get moved somewhere it is like starting new...new people, new companion, new place, new members... but the Lord is always there to rely on. Maybe I just need more humilitly...

My last week here in Raymondville was good :) We have been working with an investigator to get her ready for baptism this month. We had a good FHE with her and her kids this week. She just had a baby a month ago. We went over there and she was feeling pretty low :( becuase she can't really go out anywhere except be with the kids while her husband works. She says she is always exausted (b/c of the two older kids)... so we were able to clean her house for her... we swept and mopped and did ALL the dishes and the place looked really nice! It sounds really simple and like "whatever..." but honestly was the best experience I had this week because she was so thrilled. It made her day and lifted her spirits a lot. "By small and simple things do great things come to pass."

I know that there are people that need our help all around. I know you are all doing great things out there in the world - keep it up!

Mom I hope everything goes well with the FHE I sent :) Let me know how it goes. I wish I could have been there for Gracie's baptism! Send pictures. I'll send pics this week. Tell her that she is EXTRA CLEAN NOW! Third time is the charm :)

LOVE YOU ALL!

GOD IS GOOD!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SPREADING HIS TRUTH

HERMANA BRICKER

I'm Excited for Gracie's Baptism!!!

WELL HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLO THERE! FELIZ ANO NUEVO! MAMA podemos hablar en espanol ahora porque va a saber el idioma!!!! Que bueno! Estoy animada.

That is exciting about the new year! Tabloid teasers sounds like it was a hoot! For the New Year hear we went down to Brownsville and got to watch Toy Story 3! It was fun. We played it over a projector and ate lots of popcorn and chocolate... I was sick of junk after that. There was a part in it where Buzz gets turned to Spanish mode and so he spoke in Spanish. It was kind of funny to listen to and cool to know what he was saying for the most part. Then the Swayne's (Senior Missionaries) drove us home. Elder Swayne knows lots of facts and took us on a tour of Los Fresnos on the way back. I think he told us that the Raymondville chapel that we go to church in was the first or second chapel built here in south Texas. Cool eh?

Yes transfers are coming up :O I want to stay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *crossed fingers* We just met some really great families and I hope that they will be ready to make steps towards Christ. I was missing the chex party mix on new years! I thought of you all! After we were done planning we played Uno and went to bed at 10:30 :) There were lots of fireworks going off... and the next day we witnessed two big fires. Somebody must have lit a firwork into the field...and of course it hasn't rained here in about four months. We were out contacting people and all of a sudden we see this HUGE billowing thing of smoke rise up. I asked Melissa who was with us "What is That?!" She was like "Oh, probably a bbq..." I laughed and was like "Melissa, I don't know what kind of barbeque's you go to... because that is HUGE." I like when Melissa comes out with us, it's fun. Her testimony really adds a strength to the work... and she makes me laugh a lot.

This week I didn't tighten my camelback enough and the water spilled out on my scriptures :/ I was really sad but they are okay now... just a little wrinkle-y. You should send the chex mix to the La Vista address :) Because somebody should be able to bring it up here on transfers. MMM sounds delicious!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay gotta go but I just want to tell you that I love the Doctrine and Covenants! I love being able to repent of my mistakes - because I make plenty of them. I love that God is nice and gives us second chances. I love peanut butter. I'm excited to go to the Temple again. I'm excited for Gracie's baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOO!

Well we have a present for you Tomas!

Well hello again!!!!!!

IT WAS AWESOME TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO YOU ALL ON THE PHONE!!!!!! You all sounded so happy and like you were having fun! It was kind of hard to hear and chaotic but I loved it... just like home :) I told someone the other day when they were apologizing for their crazy family/house... and I told them the quote from Uncle Ric that families "put the 'fun' in disfunctional." I told them no family is perfect but we are here to love and support and lift each other. I'm grateful for all the love and support and lifting you have given me over the years and ESPECIALLY NOW. IT WOULD BE MUCH HARDER TO SERVE HERE WITHOUT YOU ALL!

The rest of my Christmas was crazy. We went to a few members to eat and I was SUPER stuffed. They are all so kind and giving. Even though a lot of them don't have much, they worked super hard all day to make us a lot of delicious food... so of course I ate as much as I could to show my gratitude to them :) I had tamales and bunuelos (like elephant ears). I still need to learn how to make tamales... but no se preoccupe porque tengo un ano mas!

Last week when we went to mail off a package, Tomas the mailman guy was like, "Hey where is my present?" joking around... he said "Nobody brings me presents anymore for Christmas." So we told him, "Well we have a present for you Tomas!" Then we ran outside and got a Book of Mormon and ripped out a bunch of pictures of Christ from our pamphlets and taped them together for wrapping paper. We wrapped up the Book of Mormon in our Jesus wrapping paper and taped a candy cane on it and gave it to Tomas :) haha he was SUPER excited :) Then today I went by to send something and I asked him how he liked his present... and he said he is reading it! Yay!!! He said he loves to read and has started it already.... cool :) Hopefully something comes of it.

I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU!

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS!

HERMANA BRICKER

I had Menudo for the first time (soup with cow intestine)

Well hello there mi familia!!!!!!

This email is going to have to be short. My computer is being funky. That is okay though because I GET TO TALK TO YOU ALL THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week absolutely FLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW BY! We were so busy. We couldn't fit in all of our appointments... but luckily when we have members come with us we can split and be two places at once. Did I tell you we were in the Raymondville newspaper? I'm sending the article along with a few little gifts in a package today. It won't make it by Christmas but I hope you like them.

So we had one person come to church yesterday :) Better than last time :) We are working super, super hard and although we can't see the results now, they will come and we are fulfilling our purpose as missionaries. We had the branch Christmas Party.. it was good... and interesting. I had Menudo for the first time. It is the soup with the cow intestine. It had really good flavor... the intestine was just a little chewy for my liking. BUT we have been eating A TON OF DELICIOUS TAMALES LATELY!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is probably why I'm gaining weight because I know there is a lot of lard involved with tamales... but I'm going to enjoy it while I can! I'm not going home until I can make them!

I've got to run but I will talk to you soon! I haven't recieved my package yet but I'm sure it will come today! I'm excited! I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!! Mike and Jess look so cute together! They look super happy. Say hello for me!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

2 nephi 19:6

Bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success.

Woooo hooooo I'm excited for this package!!! We have our little tree lit and ready :) I know as soon as we left I was like "oh no I forgot to get her the address!" But luckily Melissa (the member that always comes out with us) was able to get it to you. I'm attempting to scrounge up things here and there to send for you for Christmas! We don't have a super long time to shop so I hope I can get it out by next Monday.

Yay for gingerbread projects! Yes take lots of pictures! That is funny that Jon just sent his companion home... because so did I! Yesterday we drove Sister Smith down to McAllen to drop her off at the mission home. When we were there President Trayner made pb&j sandwitches for us.. but when he heard I can't eat wheat he heated up some tamales for me! SO GOOD! Then we found out we would be getting another companion and picked Sister Carlos up and came back to Raymondville. It was a nice little Sunday road trip.

This week we didn't see a lot of success. We were working hard but not many people were interested or listening. We had no investigators at church for the first time in my mission. The baptism that was supposed to happen on Sunday didn't... I was like, man, I'm failing as a missionary! So I did some self-evaluating on what I was doing good and what I can improve... then we just kept working. That night we had three amazing lessons. Sylvia and her family were there for their appointment and want to get baptized in January. Leslie still wants to get baptized... but this morning when she was on her way to church, her grandpa had a heart attack or something and ended up spending the whole day in the hospital. And we set up a few promising appointments for this week. Today I read Alma 26:27 which totally fit in with how I was feeling yesterday:

Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy bretheren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions and I will give unto you success.

It is so true! We just need to endure and do our best and the Lord will make up the rest. Which is why He is the best gift we have ever received.

I want to tell you about Sandra. She just moved here from Georgia to live with her aunt and uncle. She was raised Baptist but we've been teaching her for a few weeks now. I loved our lesson with her on Saturday. We were just answering all of her questions with the Book of Mormon and Bible... when she looks down at the floor and says "this just brings me back to my first doubt....... that I think it's (the church/prophet/everything) probably going to be true... it just makes sense." She was totally sincere about it... but I'm just smiling to myself because that is the best "doubt" I've ever heard... if only everyone had that same doubt haha :)

Well I've got to run but I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT IS ACTUALLY SNOWING PLACES! THAT IS SOOOOOOOOOOO WEIRD TO ME!

GOD IS GOOD! THIS CHURCH IS HIS!

LES QUIERO

Our District in Weslaco

First Walking Saturday

DELICIOUS SOUP I WILL MAKE WHEN I GET HOME

Ela's Baptism

Creepy Picture haha but that's Wendy