"We Never Left"

(Note from Amber:  If we’re lucky, we can catch Aidan on his P-Day when he’s sending his letters and have a little real time email exchange with him.  This is the letter he sent to his little sister who is 8-years-old this morning and then the email I was able to hurry and get off to him shortly after.  We usually just post the weekly email that Aidan sends for everyone to read but today I want to share these few family exchanges so you can understand the significance of what he writes to you today.)  

Sent to Anna on the morning of Tuesday, August 19  

Hey baby girl-

I am so sorry you got sick. Guess what? I was really really sick too. I got sick Tuesday and did not get better until Sunday. I was throwing up and had what I like to call the ¨Raging Mexican Poopies¨.  I also met a cousin I have never met before. His name is Elder Christensen and we are obviously related because we are unstoppable on the basketball court. I am so glad you are loving school and making new friends but it is not a surprise because you are so good at being nice and socially welcoming. I love you so much Anna.

Love,

Elder Aidan Rich

Sent to Elder Rich on the morning of Tuesday, August 19

I'm going to have to leave for work in about 5 minutes but when I saw you were on, I just had to stop and say hello and love ya.  Anna got to read your letter before she left for school.  "Raging Mexican Poopies" got a huge laugh.  You know your demographic!

I knew you had been sick or sad or something was up.  I was up a lot with Anna during the night on Friday and on Saturday I laid down to take a nap.  I had a dream about you but it wasn't like a normal dream.  It was like you were really with me kind of dream.  I have had two dreams -one with my Grandma Mikesell and one with my stepmom LuAnn - after they were dead and they were able to come back to visit me.  The dream I had with you was very much like those dreams.  In my dream you were sad and crying, and I just kept hugging you.  I just kept trying to tell you that everything was going to be ok.  More than just telling you everything was going to be ok, I was trying to convince you of it because I knew that it would be.

I woke up startled because really it's just the most bizarre kind of dream - more real than a dream because I really think it is real.  I got down on my knees and asked Heavenly Father to help you with whatever it is you needed help with.  I went and told dad that we need to pray for Aidan because he needs our help.  I'm relived to finally hear from you.  I'm sorry you've felt so miserable but I hope you really are beginning to feel better.  I love you.  Heavenly Father is very aware of you.  I know there are family members from the other side taking care of you and watching over you.  I ask them to watch over you.

Love you forever,

Mom

Received from Elder Rich in the afternoon of Tuesday, August 19

The weeks preceding this one have grown my testimony immensely through miracles and spiritual experiences and I am so grateful. My testimony also grew this week but, not quite in the same way. This time the Savior had to let me be brought low in order to bring me higher.

I had just finished sending emails and eating dinner when Elder Germann and I went to check on a sick Elder in our district (Elder Madsen). I volunteered to stay and watch him because I was feeling very tired and worn and his companion, Elder Hamilton, had not been to class for a couple days and figured we could just do a split. So Elder Germann and Elder Hamilton headed to class and I sat on the other bed and talked to Madsen. After about an hour that tired feeling turned into a massive headache and then eventually the flu. I was consistently throwing up and had a small fever and our wonderful doctor (the genius behind my eye patch) gave me what I am pretty sure was the Mexican equivalent of baby aspirin and assured me I would be better by the morning.

I ended up just moving into Madsen´s room to try and keep the sickness quarantined and we both decided we would maintain positive attitudes and be grateful for what we have. We read the scriptures and practiced Spanish and we got to know each other very well. We made tag-team jokes whenever I was on my way out of the bathroom having just hurled and he was on his way in to settle his stomach (his major problems were at the opposite end from mine).

All of this went well for about two days but on Thursday night we got much worse. My fever rose five degrees and Elder Madsen couldn´t retain any liquids. I developed uncontrollable tremors and mild hallucinations. Elder Madsen had stomach cramps and his diarrhea worsened and turned black. Basically we were in bad shape. Very bad shape. We had both received blessings the moment we were sick, were taking care of our bodies exactly as instructed, and had done every spiritual thing we could think of to learn something from this. Yet we were so sick. I hurt and ached so bad I could barely drag myself across the floor to puke in the bathroom and the doctors were preparing to take us the hospital in the morning if there were no improvements. After one particularly bad bout with the toilet I laid panting on the floor and literally thought about death and what I thought it would feel like.

I just prayed and prayed and puked and prayed. Around then is where I stop remembering things. I think my fever was messing with my mind and I can´t really distinguish between what was real and what was my mind. Elder Madsen had gotten better by this time and was able to eat and function normally which we were so grateful for and he was put in charge of watching me. The rest of this is what he has told me happened.

On Saturday evening I had fallen asleep and was shaking and talking to myself and wasn´t making any sense. I was sweating badly and Madsen just watched and checked my temperature every so often. He told me he was about to go get the doctor because I was so bad when all of the sudden I took a deep breath and relaxed. He says my eyes opened about half way and I said the words, ¨Hey guys...Hi grandpa¨. 

He told me from then on I slept well and stopped shaking and every so often made a comment to someone who wasn´t there. Today I asked him the names of the people I was talking to and he correctly named Grandma and Grandpa Mikesell, Grandpa Bert, and Grandpa Neil but he said I always used there first names which I didn´t even know Grandma and Grandpa Mikesell´s until then. There were other names I didn´t recognize like Gwen, Lucy, Martin, and Maurine so I pulled out my pedigree chart and sure enough they were right on there. I thought about it for a long time and asked myself why they would have us bring a pedigree chart. It does not make any sense. We literally never use it.

I thought about this for a long time when it occurred to me that it is so we know who God sends. We know and are taught that he sends angels and heavenly messengers for help but I realized it is not random. He does not send some German from the 1900´s or the newest angel so that they can gain experience. He is God. He is smarter than that. I realized he sends the people who know us best. He sends those who can truly comfort us. He sends OUR angels.

I got better and slept for about 20 straight hours and when I woke up I did not remember anything. I went to church that day and went about life as normal. But I have started to look at things differently. I constantly see the works of my angels in my day to day life. Elder Germann was upset with me because he thought I was being silly during our next couple of lessons because I kept kinda turning around. Not all the way just enough to be thought of as unfocused. I did not even realize I was doing it but it was because I kept thinking someone was behind me.

Life since then has been normal. Just everyday missionary stuff. Learning, teaching, and preaching. I am so grateful for my family and those I consider close enough to be such. I miss you all so much and I feel your prayers daily. I am grateful for the blessing of prayer and the powerhouse it is when combined with the Book of Mormon. I am thankful for my older brother Jesus Christ and the miracle of his Atonement. I invite all of us to be more like him. Do something for someone today. Improve your self in some small way. Come just that much closer to Christ. Do the small things.

I know that this mission will continue to have it´s challenges but more importantly I know who is behind me. I know it will be hard but I know where to turn. I know I can be with my awesome family forever and I tear up whenever I think of it. I know who I am and what I represent. I know Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know my Redeemer lives and so can we. I know that God loves me and all of you. I know that I am his missionary.

With love and my humble thanks,

Elder Aidan Daley Rich

[The title of this blog entry is a line from the last Harry Potter Book.  Harry is facing his imminent death and is granted the gift of having his deceased love ones to comfort him.  When he asks why they are there, his mother answers, "We never left."]

"As I lay dying."
Elder Rich and Elder Madsen share a sick room. He said he preferred the floor because it was cold.

I noticed in this photo Elder Rich was wearing the coat he got to survive the Chilean winters near Antarctica.  Apparently he got hot and cold, or ran out of clean clothes.

"My dorm mates took lots of pictures of me without me knowing and emailed them to me."

Charity never faileth.

"Elder Madsen and I the day we became whole."

"Happier Pictures...we have all resorted to cereal and Nutella sandwiches."

 Last week I asked Elder Rich if they have taco Tuesdays and he said they have tacos everyday.  He eats a lot of lettuce and Thousand Island dressing.

"The beautiful CCM.  A class doing language study in the beautiful weather."

"The path we take to class.  Photo cred to Elder Germann."

"The Purple Tie Posse -

My dorm mates Elder Holst, Elder Kerr, Me, and Elder Germann."

"Selfies for days - Elder Rich and Elder Germann."

Stomach Flu = Spiritual Highs - Who Knew?

This week has been surreal. Every one in my district has said multiple times how hard it is to believe we are in Mexico. It feels like we are on another planet to be perfectly honest and it is what I imagine heaven will be like. Everyone is always respectful, speaks cleanly, work from 6 in the morning to 10 at night, and where else on earth do you look around and see people discussing the Book of Mormon on a beautiful green lawn or see a group of teens kneeling in the middle of the side walk deep in sincere prayer and not think they are high on something? Literally the most amazing place ever. We are literally on consecrated and sacred ground where our entire purpose is to come closer to God and serve. How is that not the coolest thing you have ever even heard about?

So my first P-day was a blessing because we just relaxed and talked to our families and played basketball for 6 straight hours and then had a devotional to end it all. My idea of an absolute perfect day. The devotional was all about obedience and the Atonement and we sang ¨Mas Cerca, Dios, a Ti¨ (Nearer my God to Thee) and the building was shaking with the Spirit.

The next day was our sixth and final lesson with ¨Carlos¨ and it gave me a testimony of the gift of tongues. Elder Germann and I were rushing to get ready in the morning and were in the bathroom brushing our teeth when we heard a slam. We turned around and the door to our apartment had been blown shut by the wind and all of our lesson plans and Spanish notes were locked in there. We had five minutes to make it to our appointment so we said a quick prayer pleading for help and went to teach.

The first thirty seconds of the lesson went terribly and we were struggling when I managed to ask if we could start the lesson with a prayer. I began to pray in Spanish and for all I know I was blessing food that wasn´t there when all of the sudden Spanish started flowing through me. I explained the perfect example of Jesus and His earthly ministry and Elder Germann flowed in bore his testimony on the Savior´s suffering in the garden and His death on the cross. I finished by bearing my testimony of happiness and asked him to be baptized and he committed! Even though he is just a volunteer and the lesson wasn´t all that critical to his eternal salvation, there were no dry eyes at the end of the lesson.

Thursday was all language study. We were doing some study on the computer when a couple of Elders in our district threw up. In only a couple hours almost 80 missionaries had a very bad stomach virus that caused vomiting and diarrhea and three people were taken to the hospital because of dehydration. I was headed to my dorm with Elder Germann when some Hermanas stopped us. They explained one of their companions had been very sick for about two weeks and was making a good recovery when she caught this new bug and she was not doing well at all. She had lost 15 pounds and was very very pale and was about to be taken to the hospital. They had called our Branch President, Presidente Ruiz, and requested a blessing. As he was unavailable he recommended they find ME and ask for one. That brings us to when they found me and they took me to the house of this sick Hermana. Elders are not permitted in the houses of Hermanas and we did not have special permission nor time to get it so we half carried this girl across the street to an empty classroom. 

I was so nervous I was shaking because I had never been involved with a blessing before. I asked her if she wanted Elder Germann to do it because he had many times but she refused and said she knew I was supposed to be the one to do it. So Elder Germann anointed her with oil and before I knew it everyone was looking at me ready for me to do my part. I slowly placed my hands on her head with Elder Germann and silently prayed to some how do this. I began to pray. I could barely get words out and what I did get out was choked whispers. I had just finished the set script you have to say when I felt more power than I have ever felt before. I felt actual, physical priesthood in my body and I started to shake. I knew what I had to say and I said it without any pause. I blessed her and assured her and comforted her in words that were not my own.

As I closed the blessing I felt all of the warmth or whatever was in me move into my hands and then into this girl. I felt so tired and weak that I barely uttered ¨Amen¨ and ended the blessing. Then this sister who had barely been able to stand let alone walk to the building stood, shook my hand, and RAN to her companion and hugged all her sisters there. It was the most humbling experience I have yet had in my life. I sat down and closed my eyes exhausted from what had just happened and listened to the singing of the sister I had just blessed as she skipped down the hall ( she has a beautiful voice but had not been able to sing for three weeks). I was about to doze off when someone softly tapped my shoulder.

It was an Elder I had never met before and he told me a sister in his district was very sick and she had asked for me to bless her. It was a girl I had seen maybe twice and the only time we had talked was when she could not handle her food tray so I carried it to her table for her. Elder Germann and I said we would and the exact same thing happened. It was hard and scary at first but somewhere in the middle I felt such power in me and then released it into this sister. I am convinced that I have never been that tired in my life. Not after any long day at work or a day of traveling or a 13-match wrestling tournament. And as before she got up thanked us with tears in her eyes and went on with her studying as if she had never been sick. Since then I have blessed about 9 other missionaries.

The next day was not quite THAT crazy spiritual but some fun stuff still happened. Now, knowing me it probably does not surprise you that when I was given the option of playing basketball with the Mexican kids who were about as good with their hands as white people are with their feet or with the 7-foot college players and kids from Lone Peak High School I chose the latter. The upside was that I am so small that I can drive hard and lay it into the hoop. Well about 30 minutes into the game I drove and got fouled hard with an elbow to the head but came up with that dumb this-hurts-but-I-can´t-show-it face and walked to the top to take the ball again. Everyone was looking at me wide-eyed and I could not figure out why for almost a full minute when I felt my head and pulled away my hand completely red. So that ended the game and long story short I took a shower, went to the clinica and got it taped up. The best part of the story is that I was being worked on for about 45 minutes and about 44 of those minutes were used taping it together as best they could. The last minute was used putting a piece of gauze and two pieces of tape on my eye and I was instructed to wear this sorry excuse for an eye patch for FOUR FREAKING DAYS!! Their reasoning was that it would keep my eyes closed so I would not move the wound too much so it would not scar.

I lasted about twenty minutes until I tore it off assuming that girls probably like a good scar more that an eye patch so I took my chances with the tape. It has healed quite nicely though.

Saturday and Sunday were a blur of study, blessings, and spiritual meetings. We watched the best talk I have ever heard by Elder Bednar about missionary work and the character of Christ given at the Provo MTC and I know that if any missionary there had needed any inspiration or help that was without doubt the answer.

Yesterday was just another good day. We got a new ¨investigator¨ and without any books other than the Book of Mormon we converted her to baptism on our first lesson...in Spanish. Other than that it was just study and work and being happy. This whole zone leader thing is so hard and demanding and I often have to be in three places at once but I have never been happier. I am a total believer in the scripture that explains when you are serving others you are only serving God. I have also been reading the Book of Mormon at every possible moment. I am already almost done with Helaman.

Well, I have to sign off for now. I love everyone so much. I feel your prayers. I feel your love. I love what I am doing. I love service. I love my family. I love my God.

With prayers and love,

Elder Aidan Daley Rich

Yo se que vive me Señor.

Ubiquitous missionary basketball injury.  No stitches required.

"My awesome eye patch."  
Not the eyes, not the moneymakers!

"I thought you might like to meet my good friend Elder Marshall. He is about 5’5” and from Gilbert, Arizona. I do not know what power he posses but he can make me laugh with anything he says. He jokes about how we have to be a certain distance from Hermanas so this is him showing us the boundaries or whatever he is doing in his own special way. He reminds me of Andy [Aidan’s brother] so much it hurts sometimes."

"My best friend Fernando. He is our maintenance man and so funny."

"Painting from the CCM of the Stripling Warriors entitled, 'I Will Take Care of Him Mother'.  Yes, I cried."

Elder Rich's building  

"Favelas that surround the entire valley.  Actually quite amazing."

P-Day photo shoot to give us an idea of what the CCM looks like.

Elder Germann, Aidan's companion, on the CCM campus. Everything is so green.

"Yes.  Yes I did.  #nachobike"
This one is going in a frame for sure.  He even has his pinkie up....nice touch Elder Rich!

Elder Rich and Elder Marshall.  We were able to chat back and forth over email on his P-Day and this was his final send-off to keep us smiling until our next blessed email!

Finally! Our first letter from Elder Rich

Rich Fam-

I almost don´t know where to even begin. I guess I´ll just start at the beginning.

So after I walked through security I got right on the plane and was off to Salt Lake. I sat by a very cool man and he told me about his missionary experiences and was a great comfort to have someone to talk to. We landed and then sat in the airport for 7 hours. I was with Josh Eardley, Luke Heaton, and Spencer Blazzard but that didn´t last long as we met up with four other missionaries. We all settled in a Cafe Rio and because we couldn´t leave our bags unattended Elder Heaton and I took orders and cash from everybody and went to get us food. At the register as I was about to pay for our food a man walked up, swiped his card, said, ¨haven´t fed the missionaries for a while", then walked away. Everyone, even in Atlanta, were so kind to us and were very respectful. The rest of the flight was uneventful other than the fact that the pilot who was supposed to fly us from Atlanta to Mexico just didn´t show up to work so there was a delay as we waited for a back up to come in.

The next 24 hours were a blur of moving in, receiving instruction (very little), and then being left to our own devices. The first day was all classes and orientation and stress. Everyone kept telling us it would get easier (every time I say ¨us¨ I mean Elder Germann and myself) and it did until the next day we got made district leaders over our little district of 14 missionaries. Right after that surprise we were told that in an hour we would be teaching our first discussion to an investigator who DID NOT SPEAK A LICK OF ENGLISH! That was a hard and stressful trial to say the least. Surprisingly though the Spirit was very strong and we got our message across smoothly. When Elder Germann and I came out of the room we looked at each other then started jumping up and down and high-fiving because we felt hope even though the lesson absolutely sucked. Still, everyone assured us it would get easier.

The next day we were learning Spanish from a teacher who does not speak much English and she could tell we were all frustrated with ourselves. So she had us close our books and open our scriptures and we just read 1 Nephi 1. I have read it a million times but never has it spoken to me like that. She delivered one of the most spiritual messages I have ever heard and it gave me such hope because she has a very heavy accent, spoke almost entirely in Spanish, and what little English she spoke was broken. Yet she was able to bring the Spirit to us through her incredible faith and testimony. About ten minutes later we taught Carlos his second lesson. I would rather not go into detail but suffice it to say that it went very poorly. We came out feeling so bad inside and I wanted to puke. We went for a walk and got very far away from all the buildings and then all of our emotions came out. Elder Germann and I broke down and I got so angry. I just punched this pole until it was bent and dented and my knuckles were gushing blood. We couldn´t understand what we were doing wrong and why we couldn´t teach the way we wanted to. We hit a deep low and I went to bed that night with wet eyes, a heavy heart, and bloody hands.

The next day was Sunday and we didn´t want to get out of bed or even try. We got up though, threw on clothes, and dragged ourselves to priesthood. The lesson went over my head as I wasn´t paying attention and I just continued to feel like crap. After the meeting our branch president Presidente Ruiz pulled us into his office and asked to talk with us. We thought we had blown it as district leaders and were ready for scolding and humiliation. He looked at us and told us he was releasing us as district leaders. My heart shatttered and I was about to tell him to send me home when he told us it was and honorable discharge so that he could appoint us as zone leaders over the 6 districts in our zone. All of whom have been here more than twice as long as we have. My head was spinning and I was waiting for the punch line of this obvious joke but it never came. We accepted, and walked to sacrament in daze.

Sacrament meeting was a fast Sunday meeting and a district was leaving (why they needed new zone leaders) so they all bore their testimonies and it reminded me why we I am here. We came out of the meeting full of the Spirit and I realized a very important thing. We had asked eachother how the two of us, who were such newbies, could take care of so many people and ahndle so many responsibilities. I then realized that there isn´t two of us. There is three. There is no such thing as a companionship. Only a trio.  I read Alma 17:11 and now I KNOW nothing can touch me.

We WRECKED Monday. We learned so much and in the middle of our third lesson with Carlos during my part of the lesson I just stopped mid sentence, looked at Carlos, and bore my testimony in perfect Spanish. This is all that I can remember:

Yo se que el Evangelio de Jesucristo es verdadero. Yo se que su Expiación es real. Yo se que los principios en el Libro de Mormón pueden hacerlo feliz. Yo amo mi familia mucho, pero los deje para que Usted puede tener a su familia para siempre. Quiero que Usted sea feliz Carlos. Este es camino.

I know this work is true and this is where I am supposed to be. I love everyone back home but I am staying right where I am. I miss you all so much and I feel your prayers here. I have never been closer to my Savior. May he protect and watch over you.

Forever and always a Rich,

Elder Aidan Daley Rich

The Lord may let you falter so that you may learn, but never will he let you fall.

Waiting in the Mexico Airport to be picked up by the CCM bus with Luke, Spencer and Josh.

The bus we drove in through the crazy streets of down town Mexico City. There are no lines, no stop signs, and apparently no speed limit or turning signals. (with his companion Elder Germann) 

Mega moth. The picture doesn't do it justice as it is 15 feet in the air but we caught it and it´s wingspan was bigger than my two hands.

Our humble abode. Elder Germann is a songbird and I caught him in the act.

Elder Germann is "a stud" and will be Elder Rich's companion during his entire six week stay at the CCM.  He is also serving in the Osorno Chile mission.  "He is from is from Austin, Texas. He plays golf and is an amazing singer and is just someone who knows how to work hard."
 

Beatles Throw Back - Elder Germann and my dorm mates Elder Kerr and Elder Holst

These ¨Safety Circles¨ are for earthquakes and other crazy stuff that apparently happens here.

I have the greatest district ever!