First Letter from Veracruz!

My Family,

First of all and most important... I’m okay. In fact I´m great!!!!!!!! I´m in Mexico! I´m 100% Mexican now. I love it so much here. I stepped off the plane and immediately the smell of Mexican humid air brought back memories of sitting on the beach as a family in Cabo or sweating our butts off at that bus stop. I´m in Lamanite country and having the time of my life. I kid you not, I have not stopped sweating since I stepped off the plane... But honestly, I don´t care anymore. I love it. What a crazy few days it has been. Veracruz is hurting right now. I´ve never seen so much poverty. And the hurricane only made it worse. Walking down the street in my clean, ironed shirt and nice pants with a tie and watching people eat their only meal of the day because they have no house is really humbling and it was really hard the first few days. These people will and have given the shirts off their backs to make us happy and go without. One of the most humbling experiences I´ve had so far was after the hurricane hit. There are few houses that weren´t utterly destroyed by the 115 mph winds and five feet of water. Immediately everyone began to work on fixing their houses after the storm stopped. But to get money to do it, they had to sell all their clothes. Watching a mother take off the shirt from her little toddler boy and lay it down on the street on a dirty plastic garbage bag to sell, so that in turn she could buy screws to fix her walls was incredibly hard for me to deal with. I´ve been given so much in my life. I honestly didn´t know what I should do. I can see the pain in their eyes. With much prayer and thought it will become easier to deal with. I love the people here for who they are. They are so funny. Remember the go cart bicycle thing from Nacho Libre?? They are all over here! They are so funny! My house is one of the nicest (so I´m told) that I´ll see in my whole mission. And honestly I´ve never lived in a crappier place! But... I love it! It gets so stinkin hot and humid in the mornings but we crank on all the fans we have and its not to bad. My first Mexican meal was amazing! It was just tacos and horchata but man it was good! I guess it might have been because I hadn´t eaten all day and it was around 11pm that we eat after we landed here in the hottest place on earth. So far I´ve ridden three buses and nearly died all three times, but you know all about the buses here! My companion is amazing. I´m a little worried because so far, I´ve only had pure golden companions and know that there is not so golden ones ahead. He is from San Luis Potosi here in Mexico and doesn´t speak a word of English. I haven´t spoken English since my interview with president (which by the way is one of the coolest guys I´ve ever met) the second night I was here. President is amazing. Every missionary here has a mission tie with our mission name on the front and a picture of a lighthouse because we are the lighthouses of the lord. He gave us each a mission tie and a Mexican flag pin for our suit coats. He and his wife are amazing people and I love them already. The work here is amazing. I can´t believe how prepared the people here are. I´ve already had my first of many miracle moments. A couple days ago we met a lady named Sara. We asked where she lived so we could come back the next day and we set an appointment. The next day we went to the address she gave us and asked for Sara. The woman who answered the door gave us a weird look and said that no one by that name lived there. We told her that we had a message to share with Sara and that we would try to find her another time but just as we were leaving she said, ´´´Would you like to share your message with me?´´ A little surprised, we went in to her house and taught lesson one. The spirit was strong and we gave her a baptismal date! In the first lesson! And she accepted her date for the 2nd of October. What a miracle the Lord provided for us that Sara lied to us and gave us a wrong address but it turned out to be the address of someone who was prepared and needed to hear our message of hope, peace, and faith after her house was ripped to shreds by the hurricane. It is so amazing to me to crawl into my sweaty bed at night and think back through the day and see all the miracles I saw that day before my eyes. The lord works in mysterious ways and I´m so so so so so so gratefull to be a small part of it. So much has happened and so much is going to happen. I´m writting in my journal like crazy and taking a million photos. I couldn´t send them this week but I will send photos of everything so far next week! I will close for now but want to quote something amazing I found that is my new motto here in Veracruz:

´´I´m a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won´t look back, let up, or slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed. My presence makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no longer need pre-eminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don´t have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven. My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few. My guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won´t give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go until he comes, give until I drop, preach until all know. And when he returns for his own, he will have no problem recognizing who I am. My banner will be clear.´´

My family... I´m am in the best two years of my life. I will not stop until the stake president takes his hands off my head to release me from this amazing call. I love being in Lamanite country. I am strong in the spirit and love how it feels. I am living a perfect life and have the number one best family in the world. I love you all so much. Dad. Mom. Hannah. Michael. Chandler. Claire.... and Grace. You are everything to me and I´m so so so gratefull to be serving my Heavenly Father right now. I love you all. Until next week!!!!


Elder James Reed Ricks

***I´m in Veracruz (the City of Veracruz) North in a colony called Volcanes. Yes send mail and packages to the mission home. Yes we have water and power but it just barely came back two days ago.