March 7, 2011

My Dear Family,

Wow... Of course, another great week has gone and passed. We had another baptism this week for a child named Isaias Chagala Palafox. He is 12 years old and has been going to church since he was like two. A week ago we found out that he was never baptized because his mom became inactive. The whole time I have been here I thought he was a member. The miracles never seem to end. It was our 5th consecutive week baptizing and we are 1 of three companionships in the mission to do so. It is hard to stay humble and realize that it is not us... but the Lord. We know that the goal is to baptize every week and we have seen the blessings of obedience and hard hard work. This last month our mission was the highest baptizing mission in Mexico! We are passing through such a special time and the work of the Lord is progressing so so so rapidly.

I am so sad to say that Elder Harmon and I will not be able to stay together. President came to our district class this Tuesday and pulled us aside to talk to us. He looked at us and said, "I just can´t do it boys... I can´t keep you two together. The Lord has plans for you both.." He told us that for 10 days he had all the missionary changes planned out. He has a big huge giant board and pictures of every missionary and he moves the photos around to place changes. He told us that for 10 days he had our pictures together and the revelation just wouldn´t come for the rest of the mission. He told us he prayed and woke up early one morning to finish the changes and felt like he had to separate us. Elder Harmon and I both cried with President. Elder Harmon has become such a good friend. He has taught me so much. When President saw us start to cry, he started too, and he said he wished he could have kept us together until we finish our missions. Elder Harmon told me in his tears that he loved me, and I gave him a great big hug. I have never felt sad when I get a new companion... not like this. Elder Harmon has taught me so much and I am excited to use what I have learned throughout my mission. President told me that he felt like I needed to train another new missionary and so this Tuesday, I will go to the offices by bus again (3 1/2 hours!!!) , and receive a fresh new missionary! But this time... he will be Mexican! I am excited to train and love doing it! New missionaries always are filled with such a desire to work hard and baptize and here in Catemaco, we´ll do just that!

It is getting so so hot here. I thought it was bad in September and October when I got here to Mexico but this is worse. I feel like I could just reach out my hand and touch the sun! I am getting so tan! And loosing so much weight. I love it! All the sisters here in the branch tell me every time they see me, "Elder Ricks, would you please just write down your secret diet?" My diet is 18 miles daily and the 110* weather! :) I haven´t heard from Hannah in a while! I know she is probably super busy all the time! What is the weather like in Florida? I remember liking the weather when I was there.

This week was the week of the witches! (Brujos!) They came from all over the world to sin here, great right? There were gringos, French, European, and South Americans! There is a mountain here called Mono Blanco (White Monkey) and at 12:00am on Friday night they all went up to a cave that they say is up there and supposedly Satan comes to visit them. The truth is that it actually got a little scary here. For Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday we couldn´t go in about half of our area. At about 8pm on Friday night they started launching off these huge flaming balloons in the sky and they are in the shape of a star (the shape they worship) and they just float up and up and up and eventually explode and it rains fire. Catemaco just felt different. President had said that at anytime we wanted to leave, we could go to another area more safe and work for the day but we had a baptism that weekend and so it made things a little hard. All in all, we were protected and nothing happened to serious. The people here are so confused. They believe in the weirdest things and even though that they don´t make sense, they believe and have faith in things that really don´t exist. Its like holding up a pen and trying to convince people that the pen is an orange. We know, that clearly it is a pen, but the people we teach who have blindly followed the "false traditions of their fathers" like the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon (or "Book of the Mormons" as they call it here!). They can believe all they want in Saints and the Virgin but not one of them paid for their salvation on the cross. Only Christ.

I love being a missionary. I have thought about how mom is helping to save lives physically right now in the hospital. I have likened that to saving lives spiritually here as a missionary. We sit them down in the first lessons and take their vitals, or basic beliefs, and after we diagnose the problem. Then we prescribe the Lords medicine: Reading the Book of Mormon, praying to God, and coming to church. We give them a healing period of two weeks and then after the two weeks we set the check up appointment for the baptism. I love what I do everyday. But man is it hard. Some days it is tempting just to quit, or break a little tiny rule. But who am I, to waste even a second of the Lord´s time. I love what Jeffery R. Holland says about mission work. "It is HIS work. Do it HIS way, or go home!" So bold and loving at the same time! :) I know this is the true church. I learned that, not because I followed the example of my parents and was forced to be baptized like our Catholic friends. I learned this all because I read a book, and prayed. May you all know that I love you all so much! I think about you all every day! I wish I had more time to write everyone a personalized letter but an hour really just isn´t much! But I have to be obedient to receive the blessings! Love you all! Until next week!!! :)

Elder James R. Ricks