Hola Padres

well first off i absolutely loved conference. it was so good. i really liked the priesthood session, i cant remember a lot but that is why i took notes, i am so grateful for the chance i have to watch all the sessions. i guess i really took advantage of that before the mission and i guess i just didnt know how important is was to actually sit there and listen to our leaders of the church. it is just the best couple days ever to receive spiritual guidance from the prophet and the 12. they really are inspired men and they always know exactly what we need to hear as a church and it is amazing. so we didnt get anyone to church which was a little disappointing for us not seeing our gators at conference to listen to the prophet, i really dont like satan all that much.. ok maybe at all. he really is working hard on our gators and he really doesnt want them to progress and it is annoying, well this week was a weird one. almost every lesson we had planned fell through, and it was even more weird cuz all of them were at home and they just didnt want us to be there at that time, its been kind of a frustrating week for us cuz we have been really working hard to be able to find those persons that elect and want to hear our great message of the restored gospel. it really is the best message they can hear at this time in their lives and a lot of people are using their agency in the wrong way whether it be peer pressure or what but satan, i'll admit is pretty good at getting people to listen to him, and that is very annoying, well this week we are going to be practically starting over here in our area with a few exceptions, but we are going to be working better, smarter, and listen more to the spirit to find those souls that are prepared by our father in heaven to receive this great message, well i hope you got a lot out of conference cuz i sure did, now i hope i can remember it all until the next conference and be refreshed then, but i hope you have a great week and work hard, i love you all a ton. adios

8-15-11

hey fam. well this week was once again a good one. we had a meeting with our mission president and it was good. i learned a lot about the help of members, well this week other than that wasnt all to excited, oh and btw if this email is short its cuz the other missionaries are rushing me but any whos, so yesterday was cool. we had dinner with a family and they had invited over the fluckigers. he is an area 70 so that was cool to be in his company, well yesterday in church we talked a lot about member missionary work, and just how important it is in the conversion of people, i mean us as missionaries can do a lot but if they have no friends in the church there isnt going to be a lot of retention, and they will probably go less active and then inactive which just isnt something we want now-a-days. well we are progressing in the work. we are doing a lot of tracting still, still finding great people to teach which is always fun, cuz missionary work, being fun as it is (tracting) teaching is so much more fun cuz you really get to see those changes that people want to make so they can live with all of us when this life is over and we are in the presence of our father, but it is sad to see when they dont realize what they will be missing out on when they reject the message that "we know will change their lives". you know fam, i really do not like satan. he really is not a fun guy, a few days ago we had this lady come out of her door and come talk to us and just started talking about how joseph smith wrote the book of mormon and that she doesnt agree with "mormonism" and she just handed us these 2 little books and i just bore testimony about the book of mormon and joseph smith and i know they are true but she still rejected it, so it is sad but they have their agency and they are going to realize after this life when i look them in the eyes and say "i tried to tell you, but you didnt listen" its going to be tough to see a lot of brothers and sisters not make it but it is all on them and the choices they make, well family i know this work is true and that joseph smith really did see god the father and his son jesus christ and that they really did restore that same church that was once upon the earth back when jesus was here and that joseph smith did translate the plates by the power of god and that it is the most correct of any book on the earth and that we can come closer to god by following its precepts. i know these things are true without a doubt in my mind and i love you all very much and wish the best to you this week.

--

Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

Burning Up in Texas!

8-8-11 To Mom

first answer is yes - it is freaking hot down here. the last few days we have looked at the thermometer that says over 110 every time in the shade haha so yeah, we are burning, but it is all for a good cause :) well i am glad that the girls survived the "hot" trek, i knew they could. they are tough girls, well this last week was good. we had a few new people to start teaching as of lately so things are looking up, well that is to bad that shanlyn broke her nose. that must have hurt pretty bad but i do have a pretty good brother :) to help her out haha. well i am glad that you are doing good, yeah dont worry about the money thing i can wait till things get better for y'all. i think the lord will provide as long as we are faithful to him, well this week we have a meeting with the president and about 150 missionaries so it will be pretty good to be there, well i love you mom. i hope things go well for you. take care

To Dad

haha it is pretty cool how the lord answers prayers huh, that is one thing i have learned about a lot on the mission is that whenever i have needed help i first go to the lord and he has my back most of the time, sometimes he will want us to figure thing out but he is pretty loving, well i am glad all is working out for you at work. i bet it is pretty frustrating when things dont go the way they are supposed to, it happens a lot in the mission field. investigators arent doing the things they know are going to help them out in life even though they know the blessings they will recieve from just simply doing it, and i know there are still those elect people who are waiting still for us to find them and we are working hard to find our brothers and sisters that are lost, i heard a talk from troy dunn "life is a football game" and at the end of it he tells the youth that he doesnt want to just see a few of us in heaven but he wants us to go there and to bring everyone with us and it is our job to find them and bring them unto the true knowledge of the restored gospel, well i love you a ton dad. you are the greatest. thanks for everything

Hangin' In There...

8-1-11

well hello my wonderful family. i hope you all had a good week, well this week was a slow one again but we are hangin in there, well this week we got a great referal from the sisters and she is really great. she said she is really interested in learning more, so it is good to know that we have someone that wants to actually progress, so yesterday at church we had to translate for sacrament meeting and it was quite the experience. we had fun doing it, well this week we are hoping to be finding a lot of great peeps, so we are going to be doing a lot of tracting, haha. i kinda like knocking on random doors to share the gospel with them, well i hope you all have a great week. thanks for the pics of naomi. shes pretty cute :) well i love you all and take care
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

7-25-11

well hello my family, how are you all doing this wonderful week. well i hope you all are doing great. well this week we found out that elders walsh's mtc companion is now our new zone leader so it is all pretty cool. so this last week, we still havent been able to find a lot of great people but we have found a few good ones. we are both just really trying hard to find those elect souls that are prepared by the lord, so we have been doing a lot of tracting. i love it. i just wish a lot more people would open their doors, haha. but it is all good. honestly, this week was pretty boring so there wasnt a lot happening, just a lot of tracting. so that is pretty much the news update. let me know when miles has his call. ssorry this letter stinks, so just deal with it :) and be happy. this week is going to be a better week than last so i will have something to write about. but i hope that you all have a great week and enjoy the cool weather. it is pretty hot down here. well fam, i love you all ton have a good one
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

What's Been Happening This Last Month!

7-18-11

well hello my family how have all y'all been doing, well here it is still going a little slow but we are getting more people to teach so that is all going good. well this last week we had interviews with our new mission president and it all went well. he is pretty cool, then we all went to subway for lunch with the president, well i am glad to know that delbert and mary are married and i hope that they are happy with that, well that is cool about what leon baker said and i know that if we all just keep making that effort of just going and doing all we have been told to do, like keeping the mandamientos, i just finished 2nd nefi in el libro de mormon and i love the promise it contains that if we keep the mandamientos we will prosper in the land, and the same with now a days if we go to the temple reguarly we will see the blessings of getting a new one and i think that would be totally awesome to have one in moses lake, so i hear that miles is going to get his call this week or something like that. i cant wait to know where he is going, my companions little brother just got his call to lima peru, so i am really excited for you, so i guess an update is needed now i dont know if i told you but do you remember the investigator i told you about that got drunk that one time, well she got baptized about a month ago and now she has her patriarchal blessing and she goes teaching with the sisters, it is so awesome to see her progress, well that is pretty much the update. i am staying in this area for another transfer so i am happy about that haha, well my fellow family members, i love you and hope all is well, hasta luego

7-11-11
hey familia how have you all been doing, well this week we have been doing a lot of moving this last week with the family we are living with. they are getting their house ready to show so they can move but it wont be for a while, well it is still a bit hard to find some people to teach, and the family we are teaching is a little slow right now but we are still trying with them, well this week we have interviews with president durrant for the first time so i am excited about that, well i am going to try and get you all some pictures that i have taken, but this email will probably be a little short cuz we didnt find any new gators this week and we taught 1 lesson but we arent going to get discouraged and just keep moving forward and hope that something good will come of it, well family i love you all very much, oh and remember when i told you that elder merkley, (my last companion) found his backpack that was stolen a while ago, he let me know about that, i thought that was pretty cool, well i love you once again and hope you all have a great week

7-4-11
well hello my family, how are you all doing, well i am doing good, well this week we did a lot of finding and we found a couple of new families that look like they are going to go somewhere we hope, well this week we also had the chance to visit with our new mission president, president durrant and his family, they are pretty cool and yeah he is tall, well right now i am going to try and just remember what president smith said to us and just remember that president durrant is our president now and that he was meant to be here with each and every one of us so i am going to do the best i can to love president durrant as much as i loved president smith, so this morning our ward had this breakfast and it was pretty fun and now we are just doing emails, well we had a couple of run ins with a few people that were just annoying, but i got to remember that the lord loves all his children, just some of them arent prepared to hear the gospel right now, well sorry this is a bad letter and short but thats just life, full of ups and downs right, well family i hope you are all doing well, and i hope you all have a good week love you all

6-27-11

hey family. well this week was a good one. this weekend we had the chance to go to an 11 stake project that took about two years to finish, so this weekend was the final production of that and us as missionaries we got to participate in it and we sang a song and waved some flags around and i got the us flag for the first go around, haha, then japan and korea. we did 3 shows it was really fun, well these last couple weeks have been hard cuz we dont find a lot of hispanics to teach cuz of the area we are in so we arent really finding a lot of new gators but we arent going to let that stop us from keepin on searching for those chosen people, well we had our final goodbye with president and sister smith, they are leaving this week and we are going to be meeting with president durant this week and i guess he is just going to get to meet all of us so i am excited to meet him and sad to see that president smith is done with his 3 year mission but i figure that he will be a seventy soon cuz he and uchdorf are like pilot flying buddies haha, well the family we have been teaching, the dad got a new job and that is stopping them from going to church, but we are having the whole district pray for them and if you all wouldnt mind praying for the family coheto, they are a really great family and i dont want this job that he just got to get in the way of their salvation so a prayer is always good, well i really cant think of anything more to write other than i love you all a ton and if i think of anything else i'll write it down and put it in the letter next week. i love you all a ton and i hope you all have a great week

6-20-11

so this week was also a good week. we went up to north dallas to my old area and we had the last training from president and sister smith and she wanted a tie from all the elders so she could have something to remember us by and i took my favorite tie right off my neck and i gave it to her, haha. it was pretty cool and i felt that she deserved, they have done such a wonderful job here in texas i am going to miss them so darn much, well i found out that my last 2 investigators that were in my last area, the ones who i have mentioned the one lady and another part member family the dad got baptized this last weekend so it was good to here that i have once again helped someone reach the waters of baptism. i was so happy for them, well this week we are going to be going to do a thing with 11 stakes from this area of texas and all the missionaries that are in the area are going to be participating in it and we heard that an apostle is coming so it is going to be quite the expirience. i cant wait. we are singing a song, haha. that is it, so the family that we have been teaching came to church this sunday and brought their daughter so it was good to see an entire family at church, they are so getting dunked haha. well we have also been doing a lot of tracting so i really like finding new people to teach. yesterday we found some dude that i knew we were supposed to find, we got talking with this guy and he started talking about how god has helped him in his life so much and that he has seen many blessings from doing service and i shared mosiah 2 :17 with him and that whenever we do service we are serving god and that it is a mandamiento to serve one another and that when ever we are keeping the mandamientos we will recieve blessings and he can tell that when you serve, you get those blessings, it was a good expirience for me just knowing that people are out there and they are looking for us and, then we started talking about the BOM and then he said, "speaking of" he went and got his own copy that some missionaries had given him and we left him with some chapters to read, so this week we didnt get into a lot of doors so we are really going to focus ourselves on doing just that. this week is going to be a good one, i got a feelin, woo woo, that this week's gonna be a good one haha. well familia i love you all a ton and hope you all are doing great, IM AN UNCLE AHHHHH haha. that is so awesome. congrats shayanna, love you all take care
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

Transferred to Mesquite

6-13-11

hey y'all. well this we went to the transfer meeting and i found out that i am going to be serving with elder walsh, my mtc zone leader, haha, so i was happy to get with someone that i actually knew before i got with him haha. so this week we had a family at church and they seem to be doing well. well my area is in mesquite right next door to my greeny area so i got to see a lot of members that were in my first ward which was good. so my first day i ran over a roofing nail and got a bloody nose, so it was all good. then some random dude gave me 20 bucks to fix my tire haha, so i took it, so other than that first day everything seemed to be going good. church was awesome yesterday. we had gators to church so it was good to see that they are taking those first few steps to progress towards baptism. well other than that i really dont know what is going on in this area yet because i really havent been able to meet all the members yet but i knew a few when i was in my first area so it was good to see some familiar faces and that some of them knew me. well familia, les quiero mucho. i hope you all have a great week and that you are all enjoying life haha. well i got to get going now. i love you all tons
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

5-16-11 To Mom:

well mom sounds like you all had a good week. its sad to hear that some people i knew had to go while i was here but it was their time to go. yeah i finally got the pictures to you all haha. took a while but there they are :) yeah but when you are done with it can you send it back asap cuz my other card is almost full as well, so this week we started teaching a great lady. she is way solid and i commited her to be baptized after the lesson yesterday. it was such a spiritual lesson and she felt it very strong. she is going to be great. well this week was good. we found a lot of new great people that we are going to start teaching and i thnk this area is going to blow up with tons of new great people. it is going to be awesome. well mom i love you. i hope you have a great week. love you

Mothers Day Calls!!!

We all had a wonderful time talking with Elder Cameron! We were able to use Skype so we could see and hear him! It was extra special, too, because Grandma and Granddad and Uncle Delbert and his 3 kids were all here and were able to say hello to Cameron, as well!!! We had our desk computer going with Skype talking to Cameron and our laptop going with Skype talking to Marshall. At one point we got both Elders Goodrich to see and talk to each other!!! We enjoyed taking the laptop around our house to show both of them our house, since neither of them has seen it. We also showed them Miles's "man cave" in the playhouse in our backyard that he has been working so hard on with Jordan. It was a wonderful day spent with family and our missionaries!!

Here is Cameron's email sent on Monday 5-09-11...

hello again, well i think we did pretty much all the talking anoche, but there were a few things i wanted to mention to you and favors to ask that i forgot haha. first off, i dont think i have ever mentioned it to you that my companion elder merkley, his brother dan merkley is the main actor in baptist at our barbecue haha. just thought i would tell you haha. and another thing - could you send me my camel pack because i want a litter bag to carry haha. oh and ties haha j/k ......but seriosly haha. well i am out of ideas right now but i am sure next week will be better haha. well ttyl padres have a good one >:)

Attached above are a few photos sent to Elder Goodrich, which he sent to us, from the mission office from their visit with Elder Oaks and companions...(in the mission photo, Cameron is in the 5th row from the front, 3rd in from the left).

--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

5-2-11

hello parents, well this week was amazing. well all the missionaries in the mission all came in for the meeting with elder dallin h oaks and we took a picture with him and i was next to elder nielson so when we get the picture we are going to email that to you all :) then we all had the chance to shake his hand and talk for a little bit. he said he might remember an elder goodrich from north carolina but he said he does know a lot of goodriches in vernol haha and he said he knows where moses lake is too because of the people that moved there from vernol. then after the little visit we listened to elder fluckiger, rasband and elder oaks. it was a very spiritual expirience for us all. they are amazing people. elder oaks is a very funny man and a great apostle. i learned a ton from all of them and i cant remember it all but i did take notes. oh and another thing, i have not missed a day in writing in my journal since christmas, in case you wanted to know haha. well this last week, apart from elder oaks, we had a pretty succesful week. we got a family of 5 to church this sunday. it was so good to see the fruits of our labors finally. this is the first time a family we have taught came to church and it made us so happy to see them take that step in their lives. they are a great family and they are going to be baptized :) i cant wait. well anywhos this is pretty much it and yeah me and marshall are going to talk about this sunday que viene about talking with all of you and i cant wait to see / hear you. well padres i love you tons have a great week
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

4-25-11

hello again. well this last week has been a little tough but we are going to be looking upward and praying a lot for help form the lord. we did learn how to sew and i learned a lot from it. i actually hemmed my own pants and i am wearing them right now and i must say that i did a great job. they turned out great. a lot better than the pros i go to to fix my pants. well we did find out that we are going to be visited by elder oaks this saturday so i cant wait to see him and learn a lot. well this last week we didnt get anyone to church and it has been a little tough and i think it is cuz of us but we are going to be trying our best this new transfer and we are excited to see the blessings from being consecrated servents of the lord. well i know this email is going to be a bit short but thats the life of a missionary but speaking of, could you send me a bit more money? when i fixed my bike they forgot a part and it is that part that is the most annoying so that would be great - probably about 50 -60 or around there that would be great. well thank you very much for you support for me and i hope that you all have a great week this week

hey dad a little news for you .... do you remember eddy fajardo? he was kinda your last companion in the mission. well anywhos, we are going out to lunch today and he seems like a great guy (in photo above), and no i did not get transfered so i will be staying with elder merkley for 3 transfers

Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

4-18-11
well this week was good parents. this week we were about to go to bed when we heard thunder. then it started hailing and raining and a lot of lightning and thunder. then the tornado warning sounded. it was pretty cool, so we were having a fun night. then everything just stopped like that. well this week we had a training from our president and i learned a lot from him and how we need to use members a lot more and how our mission is doing great compared to a lot of other missions in our area so it is good to hear that i am part of a great mission, but we need to do a lot more with members and asking for referals from them because the percent of people baptized from member referals is a lot more than from tracting and we do baptize a lot in this mission but it could be a lot more, so we are going to do our best to be talking with the members to help their friends become part of this gospel. it is going to be a great year, i cant wait. well we have been doing good with finding a lot of new people and we are hoping that something comes from it. well it sounds like you are all doing good and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM hahah. well i hope you had a great birthday and that this year is full of happiness and joy, well i hope you all have a good week. sorry this is short. we only have one computer between the 2 of us and people are waiting so yeah. well adios mis padres. i hope all goes swell this week. LOVE YOU

(Photos: 1. after a wedding which was followed a few days later by a baptism! 2. a cool Dallas sunset, and 3. a piece of hail...
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

4-11-11
hey parents, how goes it. well once again this week was full of surprises. we met a few crazy people, one guy we met wanted to find out in the bible where it says that we can become gods and i did my best to answer but i know that this man would have never changed. we talked about so many things with this man. he even said that because he is a child of god and that he has accepted christ that he has the authority of god to cast out demons and i simply asked him if he thought if i had that power and he said no and i told him how i do and i asked him why he thinks he has the power of god and i dont and he never answered my pregunta and i knew that he couldnt and then all about how he doesnt think we are christians, and i being very smart allecky, i pointed right to my chest and i said "excuse me sir, what is the name of the man on my chest" and he said "yeah i know" and he said " well i think the mormons have changed the gospel and that the book of mormon is completely against the bible" and i just simply bore him my testimony of the book of mormon and that ZERO percent of the book of mormon is against the bible, ZERO! "ok sir and we can sit here arguing all day and we are going to get nowhere because you dont want to accept anything and you never will because you simply dont want to" and we said the only way you can know if these things are true is if you pray to god in the name of christ and then he started arguing with the way we pray then i asked him how he prays and he said that you need to pray through the bible, whatever that meant. then we started to talk about the godhead and how he believes they are one in body and then i, still being a little on the smart allick side, asked him "so if that is how you believe then who was jesus praying to in the garden, on the cross?" then once again he ignored my question and then we asked him if we answered any of his questions and he said no and i said "you know why cuz, you are too stubborn and you don't want to accept anything we say that is true and you won't" and we left it at that and we left. i think ever since conference i learned how to be way bold and i have been and i think it is helping build my testimony. it's great. well this week we finally got an investigator to church for the first time since we started here and she said "ya me quiero bautizar" i am 95 percent i heard her correctly haha. well parents i love you all and got to go now. i hope you all have a great week and don't forget to share your testimony when the opportune moment shows up. love you again

hola mis padres como estan
4-4-11
well first off, conference was amazing. i loved the part in priesthood session when president monson said if you have not read the book of mormon... read it haha and then president eyrings story in the beginning of his talk - it was way funny, yeah and also this last week i have been probably the happiest i have been on my mission so far. i think it is cuz i am finally realizing to think more of others and not myself and it is the best feeling in the world. i dont know to explain why i am so happy but i love it haha and even right now i am like freaking out cuz i am still so happy about who knows what, but i feel awesome and it is good to know that i am one of those 52225 missionaries spreading happiness to all and what i learned from conference was to be bold and after conference we had an expirience where we were talking to a man and he said that he knew about the church but everything he was saying didnt make sense and then he started talking about joseph smith and how he was wrong but could posibly be a prophet and i just said you know what is kinda funny that is probably what the people were thinking when the other prophets were in the earth and that the people here are doing the same thing they were doing back like in the times of noah and moises and even our elder brother jesus christ. they didnt think it was posible that they could be prophets so they rejected them and i just simply told this guy that that was what he was doing, then he started taking things back que el ha dicho and by the time we left, all we told him is to read and pray about these things and if he really wanted to learn then he would just, like in conference those who want to learn about jesus, they will, but those that are hard of heart will reject it even when they know it is true and just as nephi said the guilty take the truth to be hard, and their pride is going to be the reason they will NEVER live with our father in heaven and i have learned that. I can say that with authority and people can take it the way they want but like before, it is going to cut them to their very center and it will be hard for them to hear but ITS TRUE and we are sent to preach repentance so they CAN live with our father again in his presence but that is up to them if they want to reject us. we cant force anything on them and one thing i started doing is when ever we get rejected i just tell them that they are rejecting something good that is DIRECTLY FROM GOD and they are going to regret this, well this week we finally got someone to church. it was great to finally see the fruits of our hard work here in dallas and i know that as we continually work hard and be happy we will have exito and a sister last night told me that a happy missionary is more exitoso than one who is not and its so true if we are preaching happiness and we arent then whats the point? so i am still way happy to be a missionary for the lord. it is the best thing i could be doing and i finally realized that, well padres I LOVE YOU ALL and i hope you all have a great week
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

Major Catching Up!

3-28-11
hola mis padres espero que esten bien

yeah this year is going way fast and it sounds like marshall is doing great. i cant wait for when i can see him and how much he has grown and i hope i can grow as much as him. its tough out here but i am going to be working on it. oh and mom and dad i got the letter with 100 bucks in it and i think sister williams talked to yall, right but i will probably need like 120-150 more its going to cost about a little over 200 bucks to get my bike back so that would be great and yeah it sucks to know how much was actually wrong with my bike. i had to fix a lot and the place i went to is like the best place to fix it cuz i know that they do great. it is where i bought the bike. yeah i know i am a big boy haha and that is just we we big boys do we wear things down faster and a funny little thing - i was looking in the bike manual and one of the things that makes the bike last longer is less body weight and i know that is not me haha but i am actually working on that. we started working out every morning and eating healthier so i am feeling better over all. well this week we found a lot of great people and set some dates with a new family, the wife has five tios that are members and her mom is investigating now so i feel something good coming out of this and i am really excited for this week cuz we are going to do great things as a mission. well mis padres i love you a lot and i hope you have a great week and yeah just dont forget to get the money to me so i can get my bike back hahah and that i love you again. i think i might have mentioned that but i guess i love you hahahah adios
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno


3-21-11

hey mother, good to hear from you. glad you are all having fun. so am i haha. so i figured out that i have obviously been taking care of my teeth a little to much haha. i think i have been brushing to hard or flossing to hard and it has affected my gums a little so sister smith told me to take it easy for a while. i never thought i would hear that before cuz i never really took care of my teeth very good haha but now i am very good :) nice pearly white haha. well this week was good. it was good to go to the meeting with president smith. after the meeting i saw elder biehl and elder nielson for the first time in like 6 months. they have been out in the east part of texas for a while so it was good to see them again. i have a feeling that i wont get to serve out in the east in my mission but i am glad i am in the city haha, oh and padres ustedes piensen que me puedan mandar poquito dinero para que pueda lavar mis trajes porque ellos estan poquito sucio jaja pues gracias por todo y tambien tuve problemos con mi bici y tuve que comprar cosas por mi bici y no tengo basante dinero para comprar mi comida y otras cosas y tambien tengo que comprar un otro parte para mi bici porque mi crank on my bike broke a little and i need to buy another one so that would be a great help for me and i dont know if i used all the right spanish but whatever haha but i am pretty sure i did and tell miles to get better. i know how it feels. i tore some tendons in my ankle 2 days before i entered the MTC so i feel his pain haha, and could you say hi to thaoe and estella for me :) well got to get going mom. i love you, and yeah i do need a little money haha sorry for begging all the time. its only cuz i love you and i know you love me most of the time haha. well cuidense mommy love you
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

3-14-11
hola familia esta semana fue fantastico jajaja

hey mom, that is way sweet that you now have a laptop haha. well it sounds like you are all having a great time back at home and yeah technoligy is great, well this week we - i was on an exchange and i was with my zone leader and we sat in our appartment and made goals for the mission and it really helped me out and be more focused and i have actually been doing them haha and i have seen a change in me the last few weeks, we have been working out every morning for the last few days since the goal setting and we are going to continue doing it and it feels great and we talked that it is going to be hard for the first like 4 weeks but then my ZL told me after the trial of your faith it will be easier so i am going to do my best to be a better missionary. well this last week there were a few baptisms for the other missionaries this transfer is now over and it was hard with no one at church. we have been working really hard but i know that the lord will bless us as we continue to work hard. like i said before the trial of our faith is here, this transfer we never had an investigator at church so it was kind of hard with that but we found a lot of great people and i can see good things coming in the future... planting seeds that will soon grow into trees. we talked about that at a district meeting

6But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall areap also sparingly; and he which bsoweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.7Every man according as he apurposeth in his heart, so let him give; not bgrudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a ccheerfuldgiver.8And God is able to make all agrace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:9(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.10Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your arighteousness;)

so pretty much if we do what need to do we will be blessed. i think in the BOM it says that a lot of times that if we listen to the prophets we will prosper. and now that i am trying to be better i think i am going to be seeing the blessings coming pretty soon and i am thankful for this gospel and the blessings that come from being a member of this church and for the opportunity to be a missionary and bringing gods children to know the happiness that we know and its such a blessing when we see someone come into the waters of baptism and make that convenio con dios. well mom and dad, i am once again thankful for your example to your children, i love you both so much and i hope you both have a great week and that you are both reading still in spanish. dont forget. i am right now in mosiah 13. i slacked for a bit but since that goal setting i am doing a lot better and i am grateful for the mission leaders that we have. they know whats best for us cuz they can recieve revelation for us. well i love you have fun this week.
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

3-7-11

haha yeah those 3 weeks went by fast. its crazy that my bro is 21, he's old now haha. thats cool that you got the house fixed up and got a GUN haha thats awesome and yeah this world is crazy and you do need protection and a gun is perfect haha. so this last week the missionaries in the district have been getting robbed. its pretty crazy. satan is a jerk and yeah thanks for my tax. just a pregunta how much was it cuz i dont know. so where is miles in these pictures? i didnt see him or was he at church? well anywhos thats cool that you are getting a new car, well this email is probably going to be short cuz i really dont remember a lot that happened this week. it was just a normal week i guess but i am glad that you are all having a great time and i hope it continues. oh and another ? how far is miles on his papers? well have a dood day. love you mom

To Dad:
"What are your plans for your p-day?"
well we are going to email haha then finish laundry then probably play some volleyball and i need to go to the bike shop to get the crank fixed on my bike but i dont know if we are going to do that today but i think the inside has been stripped and if you could get me some of my tax money to fix that cuz its been happening for a while now and then going to go out and find some great people to teach

Yeah, so there is an elder that goes home with me and he lives in yakima and he is pretty cool. his name is elder dunbar and yeah, the weather is a lot nicer and i really do like it when someone tries to say something to another person about the "MORMONS" and then they get it thrown back in there face and this girl we are teaching is way awesome and way ready to accept the gospel. she is way cool and she is only 16 so a really good age to change for the better, and yeah, it is kinda sad when we see people that could change. they get scared of what other people will think about them but this 16 year old doesnt even care what other people think of her. its awesome, and all we can rely on is the spirit cuz he knows who is prepared and he will let us know if we listen, and yeah, i saw the picture of your office. it is way awesome - 4 moniters haha. thats sick haha, and thats sad to hear that roselee had a miscarriage. tell her i love her for me :) well like you said HF is in charge not us and when we put our troubles in his hands we are going to be ok. well dad i hope you have a great week i love you a ton and i was wondering, you know that 501 SPanish verbs book that you have could you send that to me to help me out that would be great, oh and where are you at in reading the BOM in spanish, well have a great day. i love you again adios padre
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

2-28-11

well hello there parents. well this week was a great one. we had president smith come out teaching with us on Tuesday and he committed one of our investigators to be baptized and he was just way bold with them but very loving. i learned a lot from him and how we need to focus on the fathers because if they dont go anywhere then it will be hard for the family to progress, which is totally true and it made me realize that the father has the biggest say in the matter, well this week we had a lot of exito with finding people. a lot of miracles were happening and it was a blessing for us, but yesterday was a tough day. we got stopped by a girl that was wondering what we are doing and we started teaching her and oh boy was satan doing his best to not let her learn but this young girl, she knew exactly what was going on and we told her that satan is going to put a lot of bad things in her way to not let her know, but she is way solid and she is prepared to learn and she knows that she cant take any crap from other people, and then some other people drove up that she knew and started telling her about the "MORMONS" and she said no thats not them, these guys are actually cool, haha. that blew up in their face. she is way solid and i see a great future for this girl, and then later that night - a little more of satan. my comp got his mochila stolen with all his stuff and his camera which has all his pictures on it from his whole mission so he is pretty mad but we have been praying a lot and we know we can get it back but if you all could pray that we find it as well that would be great, well that is all i got for now. i hope you are all enjoying life, have a great week padres love y'all
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

2-21-11

yeah i got it. it was a great party box haha. well speaking about tax refunds, do you have mine as well cuz from what i know it should be big for me aha. well thanks for the money again. it is gone but for good reasons. i needed to buy new bike tires. i completely wore away the old ones already and they would have popped soon from what i was told from the guys at the bike shop. but i am learning better how to manage money and these new tires will last longer cuz they are ment for the road instead of the last ones that are for the mountains, well mom can you have someone get austin francis's email for me? i want to write him a letter or something so could you do that please so that i can write to him? thanks for your help again. well this last week has been fun. we made a gigantic map for our appartment that is pretty legit and the area looks huge on it hah. well and its cool to know that they are going to name their baby. wish it could have been a little boy but oh well, things happen right? well this last week was good. we did a lot of finding and we taught a lot of lessons but that was pretty much this week. oh and we had our first district meeting since we got to this area so it was good and then we were able to take the bus again to do a baptismal interview with some kids and they are going to be great members. they have really strong testimonies, well that was pretty much the highlights of this week but once again thank you for the gift box and being awesome. i love you mom. have a great week

2-14-11

well that is cool that the stake is getting split. that means that it is growing right? haha well this last week was good. we had the chance to hear from elder ringwood of the seventy and i learned a lot from him - about how every one of us is in the missions we are in for a reason and you may not know why but later on other people might know why and you might never know but there is someone here in our missions that we will help and it really made me think if that has happened to me but i guess i might not know until the after life :) and then later that night we went and had a fireside with him and another area 70 so it was a good day for the missionaries and during the 2 meetings we had about 10 missionaries in our area because our area covers the mission office, presidents house, the chappel that we do transfers and pretty much everything that happens in the mission happens in our area. haha i guess the president wanted to keep an eye on us :) and he is coming out teaching with us on the 22nd so i am excited about that. i think it will be a great experiencia for us and i think i will learn a lot being just the 3 of us, well that was the highlight of this week and thanks for the birthday wishes. i hope i have a good birthday as well. it was funny this morning. we had breakfast with the members that the sisters live with and there were 5 companionships there and they sang happy birthday to me and another elder so today was off to a good start haha. well i hope you all have a great week this week and have fun. i love you mom and dad. have a good valentines day
--
Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno

Snow in Dallas

2-7-11 To Mom:
Well hello there mother. Well transfers were Monday and I am Garland 5th Ward which is a Spanish Ward so I am excited to see what happens here. And yeah from what I have heard it is like heaven for finding hispanics haha Well that is cool that you are planning on getting a new car, and that you are going to get you grandma's stuff and now you might be able to help me out haha j/k. But it would be great and yeah if you could send my card as well cuz I am running out of room on the next one just to let you know. Well this week was great but at the same time not but we did a lot of work even though we had a lot of snow so it was fun. And that is crazy that Austin is going through the temple. Do you think that you would be able to get me his email? Well I got to get going soon but there is something on dad's email that I would like you to see as well, haha, at the end so I think you will like it but I love you.

To Dad:
Hey dad, well first off I did have a good week but it was very hard. We were snowed in all week practically so we just walked around our new area. I am in Garland 5th Ward and it is all Spanish so I am hoping that I can pick up the Spanish a lot better than I have been. Man that is crazy to think that Braden is home now but that is way cool. And yeah with all the snow and ice we have just been walking around the area a bit but we did do very good this week and we had a lot of exito (success) so it was nice. And this week we went on an exchange with the assistants and it was way spiritual for me. I guess I learned that I need to be more bold with people because the assistant that I was with - he was way bold and he had a very powerful testimony so I really enjoyed being with him for that time. And my finances are getting better but they could always be better but yeah it is a work in progress so I am working on that and I dont remember if I told you that my new companion is Elder Merkley and he is the disrict leader so it is fun. Well we just found out that we will be going out to teach with President this month so I am kinda excited to do that. Well that is about it for now but I am very greatful for you both again and I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you i love you I love you, one for every day haha so I can say I love you every day. Well got to go now. Have a great week.

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!!

1-31-11 To Mom & Dad:

Well I finally have gotten the call to be transfered for the first time haha and I will be getting doubled into a new area with a new comp and none of us will know anybody. I think this will be a great experience, but it will also be very tough so I am kinda nervous and excited and we just figured out that we are doing the transfers tonight because there is supposed to be ice tomorrow so we won't be able to change tomorrow so yeah I'm excited. And my new companion will be Elder Merkley and I have heard that he is awesome so I am looking forward to it. This last week was good. We had a few good lessons and I said bye to a few of the members last night and through the phone this morning so I am kinda excited to leave my greeny area and going to heaven, so I have heard from the other elders. Well I don't really have much more to say other than I love you so much padres. Espero que tengan un buena semana tambien. (I hope you have a good week also.)

1-24-11 To Mom:
Hello mother. First off it's good to know that you were able to go the temple this last week and that you were able to forgive your mother. I need to learn how to forgive others as well, but other than that this week was ok. We went to a training on Friday and I learned a lot and there were missionaries that gave talks and we stayed around and talked with some of the sister missionaries who left our area a bit ago. I was wondering if you did send anything yet cuz I am out of money for this month but I am doing better at managing my money but it doesn't help that the only thing we do for lunch is go out so it's not really helping in that part but if you have sent a little something it will help. Well other than the meeting with all the missionaries, this week was ok. We had some good lessons but we had a lot that punched on us but it was all good, I think. Well that was all about it for this week that was good, but I hope you all have a good week. Well love you have a great week

To Dad:

Yeah this hasn't been the best week either but when we went to North Dallas to the store Moons it's kinda like Deseret Book but it's called Moons I saw the saying I never said it would be easy but I said it would be worth it and since then I think I am getting better but I know that I still will have tough times ahead but I am going to try and look at those times as times to grow cuz I know that Satan is going to work harder on us when we are getting closer to God. But as for this week we had a training by our president and it was really good. We talked about how to involve the ward missionaries more and the ward missionaries and I thought it would be perfect for our ward cuz our ward is not really that great when it comes to helping the missionaries but I think it will get better, but other than that the week was ok but I think in the future it will get better. Well dad, I hope that you have a great week at work and home. LOVE YOU A BUNCH. Take care

1-17-11 To Mom:
Well hello mommy. I am glad that you had a good week - lots of good food (turkey dinner) :) trunky hahah j/k. Well this week was ok. Well mommy I honestly don't think that $140 a month is enough for me - anyways until I learn how to manage money good but yeah a little help goes a long way :) Well I am glad that you are going to start reading in Spanish now haha. It's fun and yes I am going to do my best to keep my end of the deal:) Well I really don't have anything else that went on this week that was different than last but we did have interviews with the president and they went very well and I learned a lot but I can't remember it right now haha but maybe later :) Well I got to get going now. Oh and something that I want you to tell Miles is that I love mustard hahahahaha. Yeah my comp made me try it a while back and I love it now like 5 weeks ago hahah. Well have a great day off and rest of the week in school. love you tons :):):) have fun

To Dad:
Well I am glad that you were able to go to church this week. It's really a blessing to go to church and take the sacrament but I think when I take it i could still be more focused on what I am actually doing, but I am trying to do better. Well this last week was ok, I thought, but I did feel (a little down) but I thought of the Savior and what he went through and thought that it was nothing compared to what he did, so I guess I'll stay here :) Well this week we had a lot of people at church and we had a few great lessons this week and went tracting a lot. We did find a few good people but by the end of yesterday I wanted to punch someone. I don't know why but I talked to my companion about it later and now I am all good. Well something that I learned from my president is to be diligent and I know that I have heard that for a long time now cuz I really stink at being diligent and I am going to try harder at that. Well I got to get going now dad but I hope you have a great week. Adios dad

1-10-11 To Mom:
I'm glad that you had fun in Idaho, and that you saw your daughter and Steven. I am glad that he is good to her. That is still so weird to know that Steven is in the obispado(bishopric) and that Shayanna is going to be a mom soon, and I will keep her in my prayers as well. Well this week was good - we had a lot of good lessons with our gators and we are seeing a lot of baptisms thus far and it is amazing to see the change in so many peoples' lives. I am so thankful for the gospel and I know that I could be doing a lot better but in Ether 12;27 it says that if men come unto me and be humble I will make their weak things become strong and I am so greatful for the scriptures and what they can teach us if we listen and study with real intent and I am greatful once again for the example of you and dad for me. Well I gots to gets goings now. I love you mommy. Have a great week.

To Dad:
Wow I'm sorry that work is in the way of the sacrament. I was thinking a couple days ago back when we were in Moses Lake and that I wish I would have gone to Hearthstone (assisted living center) a lot more cuz now I really love serving others and I love that they feel so loved when they see a new face there and I just wish I would have gone more. Well I can say that the best meal was the homemade pizza from Sister Blocker. She reminds me a lot like mom in the way she cooks and her pizza was really good. It makes me feel at home whenever I go there. Well I am still reading in Spanish but you are also reading pretty fast. I am trying to read at least ten chapters a day or more or at least that is how much I want to read anyways but you have the advantage over me I think haha. You know how to read faster and understand it better but I am learning a lot still. Well I hope you are all enjoying life, and I can't wait to see you all again and I know that is a while away or at least that is how I feel but it is also flying by at the same time. It's confusing haha. Well I got to go now. I love you dad

01-03-11 To Mom:
Haha yeah I have been reading the BOM like mad haha. I really do want to make this challenge real and I know that it is possible cuz dad did it and now you can and you can start reading it in Spanish and get your spanish great again so we can have secret conversations with dad hahahahahaha. I cant wait :)~(: whatever that means. Well this week was great. We had a great first Sunday of the year -the most people I have seen in our tiny ward. It was amazing and I got to confirm the little kid I baptized - it was sweet and it was just a good week and I am happy that you get to see Shayanna and Steven. I wish I could be there to see the cute little kid but oh well - another year really isn't that long but I cant wait to be an uncle haha. It's great. How do you feel now that you and dad are going to be grandparents hahaha? I bet that is kind of a shock huh? Well I got to get going now but I love you with all my heart mom and I wish I could just give you a huge hug right now but oh well -another 16 months :() bye mom

To Dad:
Well - it is on then dad haha. I am reading a lot but I really do want to complete that challenge of six times read and I know that it will be such a huge blessing for me and my spanish. Well this week was good and a little long but Sunday was amazing. I had the opportunity to comfirm the kid that I baptized so it was good. And then the testimony meeting was way spiritual and me and my comp both shared ours. I didnt even get nervous at all and i just had the thought for half a second to share it and i just walked right up without even thinking about it but i was glad that i did do it. Well that is all I got that I can remember for now but I hope you and mom can keep up with me on the reading hahahaha. I love that book. now I wish I would have read it a lot more when I was home. Well I got to go now. I love you dad and I told mom that I wish I could give her a hug and I would love to do the same for you and just thank you for being such a good example for me and keeping me on the good path mostly and I know that I have slipped a lot but I am glad for yours and mom's support. It really showed me how much you actually love me. Well got to go. Love you. adios dad

12-27-10 To Mom:

Haha that's what dad talked to me about as well and thank you but I don't want to get me into trouble in the mission. But I thank you for all the advice that you all give me on my mission so I don't get into trouble haha. But I will also be working on getting better and I am praying on getting better cuz I know that I can not do it on my own. But I still know that satan is going to try and hurt all of us cuz he wants to be miserable, like it says in 2 Nephi 2:27 but I will do my best to not let that get me down. And congrats on being in the RS again haha. It is where you are meant to be haha. Well I got to get going soon and I think we covered just about everything on Saturday when we talked except that I did baptize a kid and it was awesome. I loved it. I was excited but that is all that was different and thanks again for your support mom. I love you so much. Well adios mi mama

To Dad:

Thank you very much dad. I figured you were going to send me something to help me out and I promise I will do my best. And I know that Satan knows me as well and I will not let him win but thank you again. And I know that I still have forever to go on my mission but I also know that it will fly by so fast and I will be home before you know it - as long as I am focused it will go faster I think haha. Well it was great to be able to talk to you on Christmas and I hope you all enjoyed skyping with Marshall. We found out yesterday that like 4 members have skype haha and that we would have been able to use it. Oh well life goes on right? Well the baptism went great last night. I was way excited to be able to perform the baptism. I will send the pics with this email. Well after I got done talking to you we went to a member house and they loaded us up with stuff cuz they wanted to be Santa for the missionaries, so they were haha. Well it was a good Christmas away from home. I loved it. Well I got to get going now. Love you a ton and thanks for everything again. adios dad