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...
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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Con Amor
Elder Ricobueno