First Christmas in the Mission Field

Just wanted to update everyone on Rick. He was transferred last week and his new address is:

2002 Ridgewood Apt A
Harrisonville, MO 64071

He got to spend Christmas in Kansas City. Here is a picture of their Christmas tree (which looks a lot like the one I had in Japan 31 years ago).

He enjoyed the Christmas stocking that Mom made for him. (She made one for his companion too.) In one of his last letters he shared his thoughts on Ether 12:27 "...I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." He said "if it weren't for my weaknesses, I'd be a lot less dependent on the Lord than I am now and I wouldn't be turning to him so much. I think that is why we have so many weaknesses in our lives. The grace of the atonement can make up for those weakness and we can make them strengths if we do our part."

Don't think he's gone totally serious on us though. One recent observation of his was:
"its funny how used to the Missouri atmosphere I've gotten. You know, it kinda a Redneck place. Now when I see two guys with no teeth screamin' "GO CHIEFS" I don't look twice."
Back to serious, he said that they were able to watch the movie "Between Heaven and Earth" and it made him really miss the temple. It said that would be one of the first things he would do when he got home.

As you can see, Rick got to go sledding on Christmas Eve. He said he had a lot of fun, but found out later it was wasn't on the list of "approved mission activities". They must have taken 20 video clips of each other "biffing" and getting "big air". They seemed to get a little bolder on every run. Makes you wonder why the mission didn't have a list of "specifically unapproved mission activities".

In a later letter he said "it's hard to know what to do with missionaries who think of the rules more as guidelines than rules. It's really hard to have the courage to know when to put your foot down, and when not to, because if you say "no" too much, they stop taking you seriously. But if you don't say "no" enough, then you are just falling in line with them." He's quick to point out that he's not perfect, but it was heartwarming to see that obeying the rules was important to him and that he was trying to figure out how to be a good example.

Well, Rick's not in Kansas (City) anymore. Mom asked if he was in a rural area and he said "if rural is what I think it means, we are out in the middle of nowhere, with mobile home parks everywhere." Rick and his companion have a baptism set up for the 23rd. He said they just started teaching a new investigator. I don't think he was trying to be funny, but he mentioned there was another investigator that couldn't be baptized until May because that's when he gets off parole. Rick just got a new pair of shoes after 4 months. As you can see his old one's were in his words "thrashed".

Well, we miss Rick and hope him the best. He has had some rough patches, but that's just part of a mission. Maybe I'm just a proud Dad but it seems likes he grows more spiritual and conscientious about the work with each letter. He said that he was able to watch the movie "Between Heaven and Earth" and it made him really miss the temple. It said that would be one of the first things he would do when he got home. He loves letters, so write him when you can.