babycakes

sister ricchio got a little package in the mail!

yummy muffins

she just loves these babycakes muffins.

the most recent update on sister ricchio is that she still does not have her visa. there has been no word as to when or if she will be sent to brazil.

here is an excerpt from her most recent letter:

"This Sunday we have 2 baptisms back to back in between general conference and im so excited! I began teaching both michelle and jeremy since i got here and they have progressed soooo much. jeremy actually bore his testimony in sacrament meeting! it was so cool and a wave of emotion hit me because he has totally changed his life! that's the beauty of missionary work! you come out to change lives and in reality we the missionaries are just a small part of their conversion. things are still moving along and we are working hard everyday."

p-day and tracting. . .

preparation day at the discovery center (science center/obstacle course)

sister hernandez and sister ricchio tracting another night in charlotte (ps. it's windy and cold here)

sister henicksman (idaho), sister ricchio, sister hernandez (philippines)

no mail = sad day

sister ricchio's 1st baptism!

on the way to their first baptism

(Sister Ricchio, Sister Manuo [New Zealand], Sister Hernandez [Philippines])

the sister missionaries with alexandra dawn sechrist

congrats!

happy 23rd birthday!

sister ricchio got a nice little edible surprise in the mission office on her birthday! happy 23!

excited to eat the chocolate dipped strawberries :)

mtc with elder logan

sister ricchio found a friend while in the mtc! elder logan used to be in the single's branch with us and boy was she happy to see a familiar face. these pictures were given to me by his girlfriend.

my favorite!

have you seen a sister missionary as stylish?

serving in a singles ward

sister ricchio sent a quick email to let us know that she is now serving in a singles ward and tracts on the UNC Charlotte campus!

she made it to CHARLOTTE!

Here she is with President and Sister Lindsay Thomas

-Charlotte, North Carolina Mission President-

Some of her district members and President and Sister Thomas

Sister Ricchio says Charlotte is FREEZING, but that she already has two investigators who have set baptismal dates! She is already working so hard as a missionary!

new reassignment!

sister ricchio has been reassigned to the CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA Mission where she will remain until she receives her visa to travel to Brazil.

she was able to call home for 5 minutes to let us know of her travel plans. she will be leaving the mtc february 1, 2011 at 0400 AM in the morning. she will get to call home again to inform us of her departure from slc.

it was great to hear her voice! she and her district are so excited for this new change!

only 2 more weeks left in the mtc!

patty with her missionary tag on!

("is butter a carb? LOL!")

("The view outside my window! Do you miss Utah?? I think NOT!")

[Patty mentions that due to the extreme dryness of Utah, she experiences severe nosebleeds! She hates the cold!]

In front of the Provo, Utah LDS Temple

("Temple walk! Each Sunday after lunch we get to walk to the Provo Temple. . . ALL UP HILL!")

("The Trio! Me and my companions: Sister Shaha & Sister Black")

("The District: Elder Laufenberg, me, Sister Black, Elder Thorup, Sister Shaha, Sister Randall, Sister Smith, Elder Smith")

"So here at the MTC we are not allowed to sing unless it's a hymn. So naturally nobody sings EXCEPT in the shower! Oh my gosh patty it's so funny! The sisters all sing and try to have a competition on who has the best voice! You would just die laughing! I was washing my hair and thought, 'Maybe I should sing 'Called to Serve' in my ugly tone deaf voice! Maybe tomorrows shower time will be a little adventurous!"

update on sister ricchio

sister ricchio currently has 2 sister companions: Sister Black from McCamon, Idaho and Sister Shaha. she has been called to be the senior companion of the group.

the language has been tough, but it is coming along! the MTC is nothing like anyone said it would be! "i guess you just have to experience it yourself!"

she says, "this experience in the MTC has totally challenged me, but I have loved every minute of it! coming here has strengthened my testimony so much. it's getting stronger day by day. i truly need to be here and i have learned so much already."

her district includes 3 elders and 5 sister missionaries.

"i would love me some treats! elder smith gets a food package everyday and we're all so jealous! he's so nice and shares with me! I don't know what everyone was talking about with the food in the MTC, but Patty is there's ever a time that I've missed your cooking it's NOW! The food is junk so treats would definitely come in handy!"

this is her testimony in portuguese:

Eu sei que a Igreja e verdadiera, e que Jesus Cristo e O salvador, e O livro de Mormon e as palavras de Deus, e as familias sao eternas. Em nome de Jesus Cristo, Amen!

in front of the MTC

looking over provo valley

playing in the snow before she travels to the jungles of brazil

you can see byu campus in the top right of the picture

emilie. one of our lifesavers for taking sister ricchio to the mtc!

SO CUTE! here she is all stylish and ready, backpack and all, to enter into the mtc!

kneaders breakfast & costa vida lunch

sister ricchio eating a yummy kneaders breakfast

she can't get enough of costa vida

send off at john wayne

sisters at john wayne airport. sending off sister ricchio

safe arrival to slc

sister ricchio made it safely to salt lake city. wednesday she will be entering the missionary training center where she will meet all of the other missionaries going to brazil.

set apart as a missionary

president osborne, our stake president, set vanessa apart tonight as a missionary.

you can now call her "sister ricchio."

tomorrow she departs to SLC where on wednesday she will enter the missionary training center