Malaria Got Him

I got so dang much mileage out of that bout with Malaria that I thought it was worth another shot - so I found another picture of my ‘bed time’ and thought that maybe it could generate a few more cards and some more emails and maybe even a few checks...(for the memorial fund, of course)...(I can’t remember whether I caught it June of this year or last year but I will never forget it and it was severe and I’m told that it was one of the worst cases on record and I think it would be nice to have everyone take a moment and remember me for the pain and suffering I went through ... – thank you for the moment – now don’t forget the check and don’t be cheap, I want a big memorial).

Bro Jim

Cape Coast MTC Guests

WE have set up a new business venture here in Ghana. See attached apicture of five missionaries, two AP's, one mission president and wife(president and sister Dil of the Cape Coast Mission) who were overnightguests at our new Hotel. WE had some empty beds and kitchen capacity andwhen Pres. Dil asked if his Provo MTC French speaking missionaries who arrived in Accra late one night (to avoid a dangerous all night ride to CapeCoast) if they could stay overnight and be oriented here at the MTC we jumped at the chance...
WE knew we could 'sell' them a breakfast and lunchbefore their long drive back to Cape Coast so by the time we provided rooms,breakfast, lunch and a training room, we knew we had made a 'profit' for the day. Glad to have them and hope our service was 'up to snuff' sufficient so they will come back in six weeks and try out our establishment again...
This is exciting, think of it, with 104 beds @ even $25/night plus food and conference rooms...do the math on that (no debt service, no fixed overheadand very low variable expenses)... we might never go home... (laugh, that was a joke of course)

No name
PS Ok, Ok, I've gone back to work and will get re-focused...

Character

CHARACTER is "the ability to carry out a worthwhile decision after the emotion of making that decision has passed.”
An Emotional Decision Has been Made to Serve. They raise their hand in a Mini-MTC to serve full time missions – the test of character is whether they will carry out that good decision once the emotion of making the decision has passed. Character is demonstrated by coming back to the MTC to serve their mission. This is a symbolic picture of true Character as those who made the commitment to serve – months and years before – are arriving in Bus Loads to fulfill their Commitment – that’s CHARACTER!

Our quest for Eternal Life began with a character challenging Commitment. We ‘Promised’, “Committed”, “Covenanted” to come to earth, to obey every word of Command, to perform the essential ordinances, to serve faithfully, to practice living a God like life in a Telestial environment and to endure to the end. Many will fail in their quest but, thankfully many will also succeed. The common attribute of the success stories will be those who developed CHARACTER - the ability to carry out those emotional pre-mortal decisions while we practice ‘Christian living’ in this mortal proving ground.

The mission field is a perfectly designed obstacle course where we can teach, develop, practice, discover, observe, succeed and also, unfortunately, we are also allowed to fail in our quest for Character development. Whichever road we choose will probably determine our final destination regardless of our ambitious and emotional outbursts of commitment to excellence and our promises to endure to the end. WE have ALSO found by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all ‘men’ to violate even their strongest commitments when the sledding gets tough...UNLESS they have developed true CHARACTER or the ability to continue striving for the goal even when the crowds are gone and no one is watching...those ‘few’ will be the inheritors of Eternal Life.

Two terrific examples of people with Character are my mom and dad. My dad died in his 90th year and almost to his death he was still delivering 1,000 newspapers every morning – early EVERY morning - for nearly seven decades. Take off time for two missions, a handful of vacations and some Lions Club conventions and a day or two when the body couldn’t stand vertical and you have the story of this Icon of Character. For many years - the span of two full time ‘normal’ careers – three hundred and sixty five days per year, ‘rain or shine’ this man ‘delivered’. My mother is like unto him. Their word was their bond and their lives were examples of second mile performance. That’s Character.

As I try to ‘remember’ the Council in Heaven, I imagine all of us listening intently and as I ‘recall’ right after God said, “And we will prove them...to see if they will do all things...”, He added, ‘and if they will not only DO IT, but DO IT consistently, they will develop good habits and those good habits will mold their character to become God Like ... and if they develop God Like Character they can come home”. I REALLY want to go home...

THAT’S HOW I REMEMBER IT...

I Practice Like I Play

Red Grange, arguably one of the greatest football players of all time, when asked his secret of success, without hesitation, said, “I PRACTICE LIKE I PLAY”.

WOW! That’s an incredible thought. It is truly is one of the great truths if the Quest for Excellence is a measuring device for ‘success’. Few do their best unless they are playing the crowd. An audience is required for most to be ‘great’. But the mark of true greatness and excellence is how we ‘play’ the game of life when we are alone or when the spotlights have gone off and the crowds have slipped away.

Ponder the undeniably greatest player of all time in the game of life, the Savior, and his true greatness was captured in the fact that one could not tell when he was ‘playing’ or when he was ‘practicing’ - because he did both with equal zeal and self-mastery. He practiced in private what he preached in public. His life was congruent. He experienced total and constant Peace where his beliefs and behavior were always in line with each other. He practiced like he played.

Abraham’s name became spiritually and eternally significant - and by whom our temporal performance will be measured against - when his march to Moriah proved not just symbolic but a very sincere time for self discovery of who he ‘really’ was. He thought he was alone, with his only son, on that lonely mountain top but he discovered his audience was immense and his eternal rewards – and ours - would be judged to a large degree by his private ‘practice’ session. He showed us how to ‘practice’ winning, knowing the ‘big game’ was still ahead.

Missions become the Moriah’s for most Latter Day Saint young men. To become true missionaries – men who can match the message – they must climb many mountains and perform miracles as they climb. Usually they are alone or with only one other unseasoned and unproven compatriot. Few will see the miracles or be touched by their actions. The Church News or the Ensign will not ensure immortality with pictures and ‘words’. But how they climb – or don’t climb – will have eternal and far reaching consequences especially during those private moments when no one is watching and no one will know whether they are practicing or playing. The truly great missionaries don’t care nor can anyone tell the difference. They plod on with “unwearyingness” (Heleman 10:4) – like Nephi – and their practice sessions play the same as when they are the stars at the pulpit, in the font or being the AP.

We ask, “How can we tell if we practice like we play?” It is quite easy. Consider how we act when we are at church, with investigators, with our mission parents, in zone conference –anyplace where others will ‘see our good works’ and evaluate or judge us against the standards already set by the masters of the past. Potentially Great missionaries respond very well under this type of scrutiny and observation. But, truly Great missionaries carry this Christ Like behavior back to the ‘mountain’ with them. Their language, dress, thoughts, behavior or actions reflect in private what they portrayed in their public performance. They practice how
they play.

The Temple gives us another opportunity to ponder this Red Grange Principle. It is so easy and natural to stand and ‘say’ the right words and even covenant to obey – the bigger the covenant the more spiritually we are touched. But, within a few minutes the temple experience is over and we ‘go home’ having just committed to PLAY by Celestial principles while we PRACTICE in a Telestial environment. It is easy to Practice being Abraham in the safety of the Celestial Room but to Play like Abraham when our neighbor needs a new roof or the Bishop needs a volunteer for the cannery or the church needs some English teachers in Mongolia or some Humanitarians in Honduras – that is a whole new game and how we Play in that game will truly determine our eternal destiny.

The ‘real’ game we are ‘practicing’ to be able to ‘play’ is called ETERNAL LIFE and we only get one ‘practice’ session to prepare for the time our name will be called. If the mattress or our reading material or our Comfort Zones or our thoughts or deeds reflect mediocrity or spiritual immaturity our opportunity to Play or to be ‘called up’ will not happen. Instead, we will be Play in another level of game that will not require as many Plays to be learned but also plays on a field without goal posts, grandstands, audiences or end zones. That game also has a final score. But, if we Practice hard enough to get to Play in the Game of ETERNAL LIFE, each play scores a touchdown and each basket is a three pointer and the game never ends. That’s a game worth Practicing for…

Group 21 Report - The Tail lights

We have watched this happen 21 times. It is an early morning ritual of waving a “Hurrah For Israel” shout as the tail lights leave the MTC on the way to the airport carrying a very precious cargo of young, mostly African, missionaries. It is an experience of which we will never tire, but will only get to witness eight more times before they also banish us from “The Garden”.

This group was even more difficult than most to ‘cast out’ (and each group has been difficult) because of the superior quality of the ‘product’ we were ‘shipping’. We have had ‘good’ groups before with scores of outstanding future African leaders but this ‘gang of twenty’ had a mark of excellence flowing in the entire genetic structure.

They came from Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, South Africa and The Democratic Republic of Congo, five in our French Program and fifteen in the English: two Sisters and eighteen Elders.
The two Sisters were companions but each spoke only one language which forced a common ‘sign language’ to appear - we have nicknamed it the Language of Love as it has surfaced many times in the past and the two sisters became fast friends even though they spent the majority of their time with their respective Elders who were in training in their given language. They roomed, ate and studied as companions and hugged for the pictures as if they were biological twins – even though they were socially and culturally worlds apart.

A few statistics will demonstrate how African “Mormon Advanced” they were. Remember, we began this assignment eighteen months ago with most groups usually comprising a 1st generation representation of membership and, effectively, inexperienced latter day saints. Very few parents are in the church and very few have ever read the Book of Mormon and more often than not they would struggle with English. The experience and quality of the missionaries has seemed to improve with each new group. Consider some facts with this group of twenty.

1) Four were sealed to parents.
2) Thirteen had two living parents.
3) Six had two living parents where both were active in the church.
4) Nine had returned missionary siblings - 45%.
5) Nineteen siblings had served missions from those nine homes.
6) Three had Bishop fathers.
7) Five had Relief Society mothers.
8) Eight came from homes with semi-or traditional LDS backgrounds.
9) Four had parents with university degrees.
10) Only eleven of them were the first missionary from their family.

For Africa and what we have been used too these numbers were very suggestive of the high quality young person who has been preserved to come forth at this special time in Africa’s history.
Two of our missionaries were sealed to their parents during their stay with us. We went to the temple twice and on each trip parents had arranged to meet them at the temple to be sealed to their family. In one case, Elder Addo, the father had died and this young Elder was proxy for his father endowment and then he met his mother in the sealing room and they were sealed together as a family. Elder Tandoh was sealed to his family and then his parents drove him back to the MTC for all of us to congratulate them and take some pictures.

Elder Tandoh and family on Temple sealing day.

Five of us had the privilege of entertaining Malaria during our time together - two missionaries, two of our staff and the mission president. With modern medicine and early diagnosis it is not the killer nor the ‘wipe out’ disease that it was- and still can be – but all five of us were very lucky and only spent a small portion of our time in ‘down time’ but were able to bounce back quickly with limited ‘porcelain’ time.
The Triplets in recovery.

WE hired two new teachers – Brothers Badioo and Koomson - both former AP’s in their respective missions and very highly recommended by their mission presidents. We retired our most senior teacher, Brother Aidoo who pre-dates the Ritchie’s – and maybe Adam. He was really an institution here at the MTC - hard to see him go but our teaching positions were not intended to be a career, only a stop over on their way through life to bigger - but perhaps not better things.
Brother Jacob Aidoo is pictured here.

We celebrated our 39th anniversary during this cycle.

Elder and Sister Child, our Area President and his wife, came to speak with us in our General Authority fireside. Everyone looks forward to this day. The missionaries gave them a ‘show and tell’ where they taught all five discussions complete with all commitments and promises in twelve minutes. It is always a highlight of the MTC experience to witness these amazing young people so full of confidence teach the gospel with such clarity and power. President and Sister Child remained and had lunch with us following the Devotional.

We don’t do a lot of P-Day playing due to our course being shortened by a few days so our outdoor time is limited to between 5:30 and 6:30 AM two days each week. But they do enjoy this time to ‘run’. We promise them plenty of exercise time when they leave ‘the garden’...


Some of their personal exit reports will be added to this report by separate document.

Group 21 Exit Comments

Group 21 Exit Remarks
July 4, 2005
English

Dear Family and Friends,

Remember that the attached is a part of our journal and often the comments are quite personal and self-rewarding to Sister Ritchie and me as well as ‘warm fuzzies’ to our teachers and staff...please read their comments as our long term history of these incredible young Africans...

Feel their spirits as you read a few of their departing thoughts...
Elder Rogan McKnight of South Africa:
“I have experienced more growth than anytime in my life, especially through the devotionals and with personal prayer...my testimony has really grown.”

Elder Seyl Ojo Bamgboye of Abeokuta Nigeria:
“While I was coming on mission I was thinking that I had something stocked in my brain because I was staying with the full time missionaries in Lagos, but when I got here I knew for sure that I knew nothing. I love the teachings here, we had people who were professional educators and could answer all the questions and had ready solutions for our problems...I could feel the Spirit to the fullest during those devotionals as it testified of it’s truthfulness.... I have made a commitment to become a missionary and not just go on a mission.... Most of all I love President and Sister Ritchie for they are like angels to me.”

Elder Godwill Ekow Tandoh of Accra Ghana:
“My experience here at the MTC will be one I will forever cherish...possibly for all eternity...I am filled with joy an gladness and an overwhelming feeling of appreciation...I could never have asked for a more rewarding experience...my eyes have beheld glorious scenes and my ears have heard such astonishing words and what joy my heart has felt....such an inspiration and penetrating power.

“The Spirit never strayed from me for even a moment...never have I yearned for, seen, heard or understood the gospel of Christ as being taught in its simplicity and reverence. I have experienced true Master Teaching which is my quest to also become and will cease at nothing till I also have accomplished this ...”

“ I am going to love my investigators, feed them the restored gospel and nourish them with the spirit of God while bearing testimony of the truth...but all this I can not do unless I seek to Become a missionary and not just serve a mission...now I’m going to be Proactive in all I do, beginning everything I do with the end in my mind and I’ll tackle first things first. I’ll control events in my life to earn a good self esteem and be highly productive. I will call that a private victory each time I achieve it...as a stand-up missionary I will be judged.”

“I will keep a strong journal as I know angels will quote from it some day...I will walk with God because I want to be like Him...I will open my mouth and establish the church. I will eat the banana fruit and not let it rot or it’s value will be shot...I will not let that happen, I know that the harder I work the PRETTIER my wife will become.” (Editor note: I see he listened to the most important part of my lessons.)

“President and Sister Ritchie, you have changed my life and now I must help change the world...I have been and am impressed and OVERWHELMED.”

Elder Nicholos Prosper Sosu of Cape Coast, Ghana:
“The first day we started learning the gospel of Jesus Christ and each day the MTC has changed my life in so many wonderful ways...1st How to PLAN and do it daily...I have never done that before...now I know how and it will make me successful...2nd How to use TIME...it has changed my life...time to sleep, time to learn, time to think...amazing idea...3rd how to MEMORIZE scripture...it was very hard for me when I came to MTC... I have now made time to memorize and it has worked wonders in my ability to learn...4th how to SMILE AND BE HAPPY AROUND OTHER PEOPLE...when I enter the MTC the teachers greet me and welcome me and they started smiling to me, even though I do not know them...they taught me how and why to greet people and smile so I can build a relationship with them that will be strong...I love the MTC...it has truly opened my eyes to a different life.”

Elder Enoch Kwabena Duvor of Accra Ghana:
“I am filled with joy to be at the Accra MTC, it’s the most remarkable moment of my life...I thank God for this moment and also the church who would build such a center for its members. When I was coming to the Garden of Eden I had no idea what would be going here. I thought you would come and be taught how to read the book of Mormon and others would come and share experiences...but that notion was totally erased the very first moment I came in here. My whole being has been totally transformed to what I have always dreamt of but never knew where I would find such a place. The MTC has shaped me...I can now give a talk and teach the gospel anywhere, anytime and to anybody....Before I came to MTC when I was asked to give a talk I would go to church literature and copy it and read it to the people..., But, no, not this time. I have become what I always wanted to become and that is thanks to the great effort and leadership of the leaders at the MTC...it was very difficult but they encouraged me to do my best and it has enlarged my confidence and it has been boosted...I thank the Lord for the MTC and the Temple which has lifted my opportunity in life.”

Elder Friday Frank Asuquo of Benin City, Nigeria:
“The MTC is a place of very caring people who put smiles on everybody’s faces and make teaching fun...I wish I could live here forever.”

Elder Edwin Kobina Ewudzie of Cape Coast, Ghana:
“My coming to this magnificent place even this MTC has been very wonderful...I’ve felt the spirit an my testimony about the restored church and the First Vision has increased tremendously....my understanding of the scriptures has increased and all this has happened most especially in the morning devotionals and the firesides...I have been touched so deeply by the teaching and he spirit I felt every morning as we would meet and be taught.”

Elder Edward Addo of Swedru, Ghana:
“It has been a very great event that I could ever dreams of...I’m so grateful for everything you have done for me...every time I see you smiling it makes me feel happy which I’m also try to do so because since I felt it I think when I do unto others too they will like it and accept the good things that I have for them...I have never had a very long term success in trying to live gospel attributes until I came to the MTC which has helped me to learn how to become like Christ and it will even help me to build up very great family in the future...I will open my mouth...I used to try to Plan but not effective but now I know how...I begin with the end in mind and do first things first and stay away from Comfort Zones. God bless you all...PRESIDENT, MAY GOD SHOULD GIVE YOU ENOUGH AIR SO THAT YOUR WHISTLE CONTINUES TO SING PRAISES TO THE LORD.” (Editor note: That s my favorite line - may it be forever true.)

Elder Okechukwu Joseph Mgbeoji of Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria:
“I have experienced a lot of things in my home especially from my mother before her departing from earthly life...I learned a lot in my secondary school where I was always on top of leading my group in thinking and I thought I know a lot...but my staying here has opened my eyes more and more and I am so happy I could come here and learn so many things...become a Christ like missionary...master teacher...master of the doctrine of restoration...like unto Moroni...proactive and stand-up...at peace...1st things 1st...I heard about you from President Booth before I came...he told me I would really like you and he was right...”

Elder Joseph Kwame Abaidoo of Cape Coast, Ghana:
“First it was very hard for me to look eye to eye with people but through everyone at the MTC I have overcome that problem...I thank my Heavenly father for the MTC...”

Elder Emeka Kala Nduka of Owerri, Nigeria:
“...my knowledge which I have received at the MTC is very much...this feeling I felt now I had never felt before in my life time...my zeal of doing this great work will never never for one day diminish...I know my reward will be great if I serve faithfully this I equally know.”

Elder Oluwasegun Issac Aremu of Port Harcourt, Nigeria:
“I was not bold to stand in the miss of people an talk but today I am very happy to stand in the miss of people to talk...that is my first testimony of the MTC...I want to inform you that you have a wonderful and talented people in the mtc, mostly the teachers...God be with you till me meet again.”

Sister Dora Addo of Swedru, Ghana:
“President, I wished I will be here for the rest of my life...I will never forget you or this MTC...it is a place I think every being of this earth who wants to be like God should be...God bless you for this work you have taken upon yourselves. I don’t remember anywhere I have grown in my life more than the MTC...”

Elder Paul Kwesi Mensah of Swedru, Ghana:
“...the MTC has been the best days in my life...it is not the Garden of Eden, it is the Celestial Kingdom...I’ve always been interested in church history and I commend Sister Ritchie for her most interesting times of sharing church history with us...I promise to try my very best to put all things into practice...I will never disappoint you president.”

Elder Frederick Aysitey Tagoe of Accra, Ghana:
“The most happiest place I have been is the MTC...I have loved every minute of it and have learned to much and it is my prayer that I will go and do everything like I have been taught...I have been in the church for many years but I have not understood the atonement till I entered into the Garden of Eden. I have come to understand the Atonement of Christ and how I can become like him one day. I am so grateful for God sending his son to atone for my sins.”

IT CAN’T GET MUCH BETTER THAN THIS THIS IS OUR REPORT

Listen to the Coach

Paul, our 2nd son and 5th born, discovered wrestling while we served in Virginia and became All City Champion his first year – he never lost a match. We had thoughts that maybe he was supposed to be born a Sanderson but the storks got confused at birth and found the right ward but wrong house – anyway we were pretty proud of him and decided to ‘keep him’ instead of give him back to Steve and Debbie Sanderson the parents of the future wrestling legends, including Cael, the Gold Medal winner in Athens.

The second year was a repeat of his first year right up until the final minute of the final match of the All City Championships. He had never been defeated and was in the championship match with a young man he had soundly beaten each of the five times they had wrestled. Paul controlled the first two periods and as the final begins Paul is ahead in points 7-0 and has the option as to position for the final minute. His coach – a wise and conservative man – tells him to take ‘the top’ (a position of advantage for you non-wrestling folk) but instead of doing as instructed Paul quietly objects to the counsel and states he would like to take ‘the bottom’ (a position of disadvantage). He doesn’t have time to explain his ‘logic’ but inwardly he desires to add some more points. His wiry body and quick mind had patented a reversal move that not only was ‘guaranteed’ to add points but the girls in the stands were always quite impressed with the action. If you put those motivations together in a fourteen year old mind and knowing there are scores of ‘lovelies’ in the stands he is quite focused on his decision and against his better judgment the coach finally relinquishes his coaching authority to this determined ‘kid’ and told him to do what ever he wanted.

The ‘patented’ move only works to perfection if the other guy does what he is either supposed to do or usually does – well this time the other kid ‘forgot’ to do what he had done so well so many times in the past and instead of being a cute little reversal with the girls in the stands doing their oohs and aahs they instead see a young man with his arm caught in some inescapable hold – unless breaking off one of his arms is an option - and is now in a state of embarrassment instead of the more normal position of being the hero. But, no worry, all he had to do was to ‘bridge’ (another of those terms reserved for the Sanderson Boys and a few of us Heber Valley wrestling professionals) for the balance of the period, a time that was fast disappearing. He only had 38 seconds to ‘bridge’. He knew he would still win the match – and the championship - as the points for a ‘near pin’ (there I go again) would only be three so the match would end 7-3 for Paul Ritchie the two time All City Champion. He kept his shoulders up and could hear the crowd doing a count down for him , they chanted in unison ”10”, then “9 ,8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2” and just before the buzzer sounded he heard another sound that crushed his ego and his two time championship dreams – it was the sound of a referee slapping the mat right near his ear – a terrible sound and a sound he had never heard ‘in reverse’ - meaning when he wasn’t ‘on top’ (remember the advantage position?) . He couldn’t believe his ears but it was unmistakable –even with his ears in an unusual position he knew the sound - he had just been beaten and not only beaten, he had been pinned – an event that all the astrologers put together had never predicted nor could they have predicted it because it was against all the laws of sanity or protocol or any of those other big words that describe what must not ever be allowed to happen in a real heroes life.

Thankfully he graciously ‘lost’. He shook the Champion's hand and left the mat saying and expressing less than most of us would who couldn’t believe what had just happened. We, who were standing in the stands – stunned - couldn’t believe what we had just heard and saw. Some would have challenged the timing of the call, some whether he was really pinned, but Paul, to his credit, took his defeat and left the mat - but HE TOOK WITH HIM A FAR BETTER LESSON THAN HE EVER WOULD HAVE TAKEN IF HE HAD LEFT WITH TROPHY #2. He MEMORIZED the words of the lesson and had them deeply implanted into his soul, brain and eternal memory:

LISTEN TO THE COACH

Paul survived the loss, he has since grown up, served a powerful mission to Mexico, earned an MBA from BYU, married the stake president’s only daughter and is the father of four potential City Champions. He seldom shows off his Championship Trophy but he frequently shares the story of the lesson learned from his 2nd place medal.

“Listen to the Coach” is wise counsel. Had Paul listened he would have had another trophy, but of more serious and eternal consequences is the thought that if Satan had listened he wouldn’t be damned from his eternal progression. Sometimes the consequences of our failure to follow counsel is just some embarrassment (Paul) while other times it might mean our eternal life (Ol Scratch as John Kovach used to call him). History is full of ‘failure to listen to the coach’ stories:

The Lost 116 Pages of the Book of Mormon.
President and Sister Thomas Marsh and a few pints of cream.
“Don’t add another tax to the Tea going to the colonies.”
“Dad, I think we should have listened to Noah, this is a lot of rain.”
“Lot, don’t let her look back towards Sodom.”
“I knew we shouldn’t have gotten John Paul Jones mad...”
“When Abinadi says, ‘Touch Me Not’ he certainly makes a point...”
“Don’t bomb Pearl Harbor, remember, Toro, Toro, Toro...”

Those stories in history would have different endings if some of the above people would have listened more carefully to their coaches - or if their coaches would have been more determined and forceful in their coaching.

For a missionary this lesson has many applications. They have a lot of coaches and at the same time they must become great at coaching. One minute they listen to the Coach and the next minute they ‘are’ the Coach. The application of this lesson is going to make or break the success of all of us, especially our missionaries.

The Savior was the greatest Coach of all time. When we Follow Him we will win those ‘matches’ that matter most. He began his ministry by inviting a few special people to ‘Come, Follow Me’. The truly Wise ones did and it changed their life – forever. The invitation is still open and the Wise ones are still listening to this incredible ‘Coach’ and their lives are still experiencing the Mighty Change. The Invitation hasn’t changed, it still begins with:

“Come, Follow Me...”
“BE Ye Therefore Perfect...”
“Love Your Enemies...”
“Love your neighbor as yourself...”
“Keep My Commandments...”
“Endure to the End...”

And His coaching Manuel still includes some incredible promises:

“All that I have...”
“Eternal Life, which GIFT is the greatest...”
“Never Ending Happiness...”

I think I’m going to sign up with this Coach...His program looks really good...good pay, great retirement program. I remember when I played Little League, Jake Taylor, my coach, promised me that if I would keep my eye on the ball I could ‘get a hit’...this new Coach says the same thing, ‘keep my eye on the ball’ but then He gets real serious and looks me right in the eye and promises me that if I will do it – and DO IT HIS WAY - then I can hit the ball out of the park every time...He sounds a lot smarter than ‘ol Jake’ and I thought Jake was the best Coach that ever was...This new Coach? I think he’s even better. I’m going to sign up to play on his team...Hope it’s not too late...

PS I think my son Paul is a lot smarter today than he was back in ’87 and I’ll bet if he decides to wrestle for this Coach he will always take his Counsel and stay on top. That would make him as smart as those Sanderson boys and some say they are the best in the world - that’s pretty good. They must have a good Coach too.

The Malarites

The attached picture proves something - not sure what, but we will workon that later, but for now it proves that Malaria can be totally cured. Thethree handsome fellows (ok, that's a sneaky way to get a compliment) in the attached picture are all proof that what Lance Armstrong has done works here in Africa (ok, again a little overdose of literary license) but it kept you reading.

Lance did recover from some dreaded disease and went onto perform great things - will, that's where the story merges with ours, the two Elders (Elder McKnight from South Africa via Germany and Elder Addo froma powerful branch in 'upstate' Ghana) who are with me in the picture are the three survivors from a bout with Malaria and all got it the self same day and as of the picture - five days later - all were in the lunch room together scraffing down the Garden of Eden vitals and remembering the great treatments we all received from Nurse Carolyn who miraculously healed us and gave us the opportunity to 'ride again' in the 'alps' of Nigeria and Ghana. WE wanted to take the picture in the John where we spent most of our time but in the spirit of good taste we chose the cafeteria where it all begins anyway...Love from the haters of the Mugabe Mosquitoes...

Finally - Malaria Part II

“FINALLY” - PART 2

I’ve had so many sympathetic responses to my ‘deathly’ bout with Malaria that I nearly went to bed. Thank you for the kind words. I have had several offers from several of you to be the featured speaker at my funeral (mostly for a fee) and for those who have offered to send money in lieu of flowers, I have identified the Perpetual Education fund for the small donations and Ritchie Enterprises for the larger ones.

Actually, my main reason for sharing my ‘disease’ with many of my friends and family was an attempt to dispel a rumor that runs among some, that Africa is a the only place that “I’ll go where you want me to go Dear Lord” was not intended to cover. I have become convinced that I have been in just as much danger of being mugged driving through Magna or Montana as Marrameu in the jungles of Mozambique; that my bags would be lost just as easily on my flight to London or L.A as Luanda and that I could get sick with the flu in Altamont almost as fast as with Malaria in Accra.

Malaria, like most other ‘dangers’ in Africa are relative. True, Malaria kills millions each year, but most did not need to die. If preventive medicine is made available (which cuts dramatically the severity of the disease if contracted) and it is early diagnosed the six pills keeps most of us on our feet without bed time (as long as the ‘john’ is close by and a chair is available when feeling faint). The same with crime, criminals and other dangers – again probably the mission president in Lansing is in as much danger as we are if they don’t take precautions to prevent problems.

Africa is a big, beautiful and wonderful land. Problems? Sure! Scary at times? Sure! Diseases? Yes! Poverty? Tons! Political Corruption? Too Much! Are there places I wouldn’t go at night in Provo, Utah? Maybe! Salt Lake? For sure! I know more people who have been hurt on Jordanelle Hill running into Moose or Elk than all the ‘man-eaters’ in Kruger. Africa often takes a bad rape for her problems. The Mugabe’s of life hurt everyone. WE focus on those men who bring shame on such a wonderful land. WE forget about all the other great people who are trying hard to bring peace and stability to Africa. There are millions (thousands and thousands of them are Latter-day Saints) who are doing everything in their power to give their people jobs, overcome poverty and dependency and trying to build self-reliance in their people. Lots of work to do? Nearly overwhelming! Are there opportunities to make a difference? Charge in any direction! Will we occasionally get bitten by a mosquito? Can’t be avoided! Could we have a heart attack in Heber City? It’s happened before!

I don’t want to die in Africa of Malaria but I don’t want to die of Mumps in Midway either, but I do want to die with my ‘boots’ on and whether it is in Maputo, Mauritius or Myton I’m not sure I care – just don’t let it be said at my funeral that I was overheard saying, ‘I’ll go where you want me to go...except... or please not now...or not to Africa...or most especially not to Lome.” That excuse won’t work because Nurse Carolyn still has 47 more boxes of her secret Malaria medicine sitting on the shelf and you won’t even have to take a day off when the Mugabe Mosquito (they are the wicked ones) bits you...you can take your pills, take it easy for a day or two and then get back to making a difference. There is no greater joy.

Bro Jim

Remember Ritchie Enterprises for the big checks...mail them to Heber City - please no more flowers...

Finally - Malaria

FINALLY!!!

I have been to Africa five times in my life and have spent nearly four years here, in a land which was once referred to as the White Man’s Graveyard, I have boarded over 140 airplanes on either getting ‘to’, going ‘from’ or going ‘around’ this huge continent and have never lost a bag or been high jacked or had to sleep in an airport; I have driven in the worst traffic imaginable and only had my bumper ‘bumped’ once and only had one policeman jump in my front seat and proceed to extract $20 from me if I wanted to ‘avoid going to jail’ (sneaking through a yellow light – yes, me and half of the rest of Africa); I have seen hundreds of lions and other of the ‘Big Five’ and the worst I can say has happened is one hungry mama cat bit a hole in my bumper; I have lived in a city where my home teacher packed a 16 shot pistol and told of his ‘shootout at the OK corral’ on his way to dinner but, I was never mugged, robbed or even saw one happen; I have traveled in over 25 countries on this continent, been inoculated for every disease listed on the ‘top ten that will kill you’ list and have been surrounded by Aids, Yellow Fever, poverty and ‘runny tummies’ but have not even been able to snare a bad case of the sniffles; I have been unable to catch, agitate or entice one of those mean ‘night mosquitoes’ (that Dr. Merrill warns all the missionaries about) to take a bite out of me ...

UNTIL NOW – I FINALLY GOT ONE TO BITE ME (never saw ‘him’ do it and never felt it, but he must have done it) AND I GOT MALARIA – I’m so proud of myself. I thought I would come home without any African Trophy for all my time and effort here. The only trouble is because of the ‘pills’ they make you take every day you can’t even ‘enjoy’ it once you get it. The lab pricks your finger and draws a little blood, charges you $4.00, confirms you ‘got’ it and then Sister Ritchie hands you a little box with six pills in it (two the first day and one each day for four more) and you are ‘cured’ (it’s not quite without side effects, but besides a few quick trips to the ‘porcelain’, a chill or two and losing a few pounds, it’s not worth getting it if you are looking for someone to spend days at your bedside wiping your brow or pampering you) - no last rites, no sympathy cards, no days off from work, a few look at you with that ‘I’m sorry’ look but the next minute they are eating their pile of rice and have totally forgotten that you are ‘sick’ and should be given attention!

I want everyone to know that I was very very sick and I hope all of you that are reading this are telling everyone that Jim, brother Ritchie (or Dad if you are one of the chosen few) got Malaria which is still among the top two or three killers in Africa and as such it was a very close call and only by a series of miracles and special healing potients administered by specially trained Medicine Men and some intercession from beyond the veil is he alive; that’s the version I want told in church and on as many prayer rolls in as many temples as this email reaches - after all it is all I have for my four years in Africa and without it what would I tell at my homecoming?

I can feel my strength beginning to ebb and I feel too ill to continue - hope I pull through, if not...

PS Be sure and spell Malaria correctly for the obituary...I would hate it to read ‘of unknown causes’ or ‘’events incidence to age’ or some other non sympathetic epitaph.

fading fast....

39th Anniversary

Not the most professional pictures but their desire to make it a big dayfor us was from the heart...

The Stone Is Rolling

The Stone’s REALLY Rollin’…

I was re-reading an old Iron Rod from the Virginia Roanoke days entitled “Fill our Buckets’ and found my mind wandering from the central theme of the importance and thrill of getting our buckets filled to one of amazement as to what was going on in the missions of the church during those days that immediately preceded the collapse of the Iron Curtain. And then it was an easy transition to send my mind flying through the other Curtains that are collapsing all over the world and especially Africa. The visual side of my mind started racing as I found myself trying to outrun a huge stone that was not only ‘rolling forth’ but was flying down the mountainside at an unstoppable speed. The exciting part of the ‘vision’ was that we were on top of the boulder and doing everything we could to stay atop – and be a part of this incredible era of the Restoration.

My Virginia message, written just eighteen years ago, shared how we had been to Washington D.C. for a Mission Presidents seminar and had our buckets filled including news of…

“How the Iron Curtain was quietly but surely being removed by the example of a few and how the leaders of those nations hearts were being softened...Elder Wirthlin shared with us that almost all the Easter Europe Bloc countries were making overtures to the church for expansion into their lands. Czechoslovakia last year had twenty one baptisms during the year but the real inspiration of that success story was that Sister Olga, a devoted member, had brought all of them into the church. It was fun to hear how the borders of East Germany had ‘softened’ and truckloads of temple clothes were allowed to enter where heretofore they had been nearly impossible to penetrate. Poland is offering sites for church buildings to be built and even Russia has been giving positive signs to the Church.”

I continued in 1987: “July 1st, ten new missions are being created with six of them in Africa…in 1979 the Dominion Republic was opened with two families and last week 8,000 members crowded into an Area Conference - only eight years later.”

I remembered that Mission President Conference and how we, upon our return from Washington, shared with all the missionaries the feelings we felt as we heard the exciting news of the ‘stone rolling forth’. Now it is 2005, since Virginia we’ve spent two years in the South Pacific and finishing our fourth year in Africa, and I couldn’t help but ponder what we had witnessed over the past eighteen years. The ‘Wall’ has fallen, the church is all over the Eastern Bloc, Russia has stakes and missions across ten time zones. The Church moved slowly into the huge and incredible continent of Africa. So slowly at first – not because the people were not ready, but the church was not fully prepared for an unprecedented welcome and pent up desire by the people for the gospel. When I wrote that 1987 Iron Rod the church had barely two missions in West Africa, a handful of local full time missionaries and a few couple missionaries who were feverishly working to get established and local priesthood leaders trained. In the rest of Africa, other than South Africa and Zimbabwe, the stone was slowly rolling but little notice was given of any significant impact. Then it began to gather speed. West Africa has grown from two missions with less than twenty missionaries to eight missions, over 400 units in ten countries, two temples, hundreds of missionaries and is experiencing the highest baptism rate per missionary in the world. Southeast Africa has grown from one mission to nine missions with congregations being created rapidly in twenty three countries – with most of that expansion happening in the last ten years. And it’s just getting started.

Satan is working overtime to stop the people and the church from progressing. Political corruption, crime, poverty, disease, customs, exploitation, apathy, communication , education and greed are some of the issues that are negatively impacting this continent. But in the midst of this chaos, the gospel is making a difference. The members are becoming stronger. The bar has been raised and the quality of missionary has never been better. More temples will be dedicated, chapels will dot the landscape, more stakes and missions will be formed, hundreds and then thousands of missionaries who have been endowed and trained will be retuning from successful missions and their leadership will begin to be felt all over Africa. Those second and third generations returned missionary leaders will truly leave their permanent mark in their communities and on the future of the church. Their educational level will rise. Their economic power will increase. Their communication skills will increase their impact on their communities. They will become the Lamoni’s and the Amulek’s of Africa and their leadership will touch thousands and eventually millions of Africans.

This ‘Daniel’ Stone is gathering more and more speed. It has nearly made a complete sweep. It began as a very small pebble with a handful of Americans and Canadians. The British Isles, Scandinavia and Western Europe provided most of the leadership basis who immigrated to the Rocky Mountains. The Isles of the South Pacific provided the first practice sessions where the ‘fruit remained’ in their native land without the call to ‘come to Zion’. Some mighty missionary efforts happened all over the globe but not until the end of a Great War did the mighty surge happen. This war was a battle where Satan seemed determined to destroy an entire race of people – the Jews – which if it would have happened might have altered prophetic proclamations, but, the Jews were not destroyed and instead LDS servicemen ended up being strategically placed all over the world and began a mighty missionary cause the likes this church has never seen.

The post war years combined with intercontinental air travel and communications changed the world. Missionary work in Central and South America went from a few to millions; Mexico grew to over a million and twelve temples; Brazil is approaching a million and has five temples; several more million and several temples are scattered in the rest of that part of the world. The Orient woke up with Korea, Japan and Taiwan leading the way. The Philippines grew from only one member in 1961 to 600,000 today. New Zealand and Australia now have six temples. Temples dot the South Pacific. Europe’s temples have multiplied. Eastern Europe and Russia’s growth has been documented. Africa is now poised to be the most successful missionary work – perhaps ever - among Christian people.

With only China, India and the Arab World left it would be tempting to say ‘the work is nearly done’ but those three little spots on the map could make all the rest of our great efforts seem like Kindergarten work. So it is vital that we keep the Stone Rolling forth, on schedule and gaining momentum with hundreds of thousands of missionaries (and missionary couples) willing to serve - and millions of successful families financing the growth.

Sometimes, when we are not thinking well or we have a little pity party and get a little homesick for our children and grandchildren we wonder what a difference our little congregation of twenty missionaries-in-training will make in this huge war for souls. But, thankfully at those rare moments, the Spirit becomes the teacher. He says, “Ponder ten years from now when those twenty young men are heads of families and serving as leaders in the African church and ponder how there are fifteen other MTC’s all over the globe where twenty (or two thousand) other young men and women are being trained and where 341 mission presidents are changing the lives of 52,000 more future leaders and thousands and thousands of priesthood leaders are preparing hundreds of thousands of future missionaries and millions of parents are putting pictures of temples in the bedrooms of their children and telling missionary stories on family home evening and thousands and thousands of grandparents are felling the urge to ‘do something’ and talking with their Bishops.”

As we ponder how each of us may be a very small, but certainly not an insignificant, part of this beautiful and incredibly prophetic story we realize we are no longer part of a small stone rolling forth but instead a small piece of a huge boulder rushing to it’s final resting place and when it stops the Savior will announce ‘the work is done’. That will not be an insignificant event and to be a part of that story – no matter how small a part we are asked to play or no matter the spot on this beautiful world where we are asked to serve, it mattereth not - just give us the opportunity to be a part of it.

“No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing...the truth of God will roll forth, boldly...until the Great Jehovah shall say, the Work is Done.” Joseph Smith - Wentworth Letter

He hasn’t said it yet, so back to work.

Decisions

DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS...

Soon after, just a few days after, God separated the Light from the Darkness, he told ‘Man’ to Decide whether he wanted to live in Light or Darkness - they could decide. He soon created ‘woman’ and told Adam to Decide what to ‘call’ her and how to treat her - Decision time. He planted a special tree and invited them to Decide whether to eat its fruit. Multiply and replenish? Decide! Hard work or Stay in the Garden? Decide! From the beginning we were created to be Decision Makers. But not ‘just’ any old decision makers, but Decisions that demanded that we begin to exercise the major difference between our decisions and the decision made by our animal friends - Decisions ‘caused’ by THINKING - and, if that wasn’t enough, then we were challenged to learn to THINK like God – and then DECIDE.

Thinking ‘before’ we Decide – but also knowing that we ‘HAVE’ to choose - is the exercise that sent us to a Telestial world rather than remain in a Celestial environment. In our prior home we had choice, but little opposition to the choice, and without developing the Decision Making and Thinking combination in the middle of enticing opposition we would never become like our Father and Brother. Therefore He gave us Commandments and then said, “Think and Decide”! Each of the Commandments, if decisively lived, has a promised blessing or reward. The blessing is the acquiring of an Attribute of Christ. As we develop the Attributes of the Savior, his value system becomes our value system. Possessing each of the Attributes of the Savior is therefore a direct result of Thinking about what one wants to become and then consciously deciding to obey a commandment long enough for the promised blessing to become a permanent part of his or her character.

Thankfully Repentance is also a Decision. The Decision to Repent can be made at any time while we are still taking in Oxygen. But, the decision to procrastinate the day of our repentance is a bad decision and one that is usually made because of poor Thinking.

Leaders are by definition ones who make Decisions and usually make them rapidly. ‘Great’ Leaders make their decisions – usually quickly and often automatically – but never without thinking. Super Leaders – leaders who are value based and driven by those values - have trained themselves to Lead without hesitation by constantly gathering information, pondering and thinking and then at those moments when the difference in battle will be determined by a ‘decision’ they make them with confidence and others follow.

People with a Christ-like value system make Great Decisions and those Great Decisions make Great Leaders and Great Leaders ‘Cause’ Great Things to happen.

When Michelangelo was commissioned to sculpture David, he was anxious to capture the supreme moment in David’s life. The common thought, in that day, was that the greatest moment in his life was when he had proven himself in battle against the frightening Goliath. Most paintings and sculptures tried to capture this incredible moment of triumph. But, after two years of pondering Michelangelo believed that David’s greatest moment was not the killing of the giant but rather the moment he DECIDED to kill Goliath.

The ability to make a decision and then stick with it seems to be a character trait that separates the greats from the rest of the pack. Many go through the motions of decision making but more often they are not packed with resolve or certainly, but usually reflect a wish or ‘hoped for’ results rather than driven with the passion and confidence that generates action. Great leaders are decision makers. They make tough decisions and then put their heart and soul into the accomplishment of whatever was intended – and even if the decision proved to be a bad one - no one mistakes the belief the leader had in the idea or the direction he intended to take them.

Nelson Mandela stands as a model of a Leader who made a real difference in the future of his people because of his ability to make tough Decisions.

Robert E. Lee ‘lost’ the war, but few evaluate his character or leadership by the final ‘score’ but rather by the game he played and the decisions he made. He was the only General in the history of major warfare who was asked to lead the armies of both sides of the conflict. Both sides recognized him as a leader - a man who could – and would make decisions – even the very tough ones. The decision to go against the Nation he loved and the one he had sworn to defend has to be one of the most momentous and difficult decisions any General ever had to make. To decide Conscience over Loyalty to Country was a decision few leaders have faced – especially when they knew that either decision would spell the fate of thousands of lives. He made a decision to follow conscience. Even in defeat he was so respected for his leadership strength and character that he was treated as a hero and a winner. That Decision by another great leader – General Grant - has proven, over time to be another great military decision.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the decision maker for D-Day 1944. An observer shares the tension that permeated the room when this momentous decision was made. He recalls, “the weather was questionable...a wrong decision condemned literally hundreds of thousands to their deaths...there was silence which lasted for a full five minutes while General Eisenhower sat and pondered the most momentous decision of the war. I never realized before the loneliness and isolation of a Commander at a time when such a decision has to be taken, with full knowledge of the consequences... Finally he looked up and the tension was gone...He said briskly, ‘We’ll go.’”

Michelangelo, David, General Lee and General Eisenhower all are examples of Decision Makers - people who made Decisions that made a significant impact on history. Their decisions affected lives. Their decisions however, were decisions that primarily had direct impact on life and death- mortality - and not on eternal lives. Each of us today – especially our youth, missionaries and young parents - make decisions, or fail to make decisions, that have longer term impact on our lives and the lives of others than any General or slayer of Goliath.

Missionaries have to ‘decide’ to go on a mission, to obey the basic rules, to work hard, to ‘stand-up’ when fear often acts like glue to their seats, to become proactive, to ‘begin with the end in mind’, to put 1st things 1st, to be bold, and to endure with nobility to the very last day of their mission.

Youth have to ‘decide’ to prepare for missions, to remain morally worthy to go on missions and to the temple and to remember who they are when the whole world is telling them to ‘eat, drink and be merry’ and there is time tomorrow to repent.

Parents have to ‘decide’ to conduct Daily Scripture Study, family prayer, family home evening, honor the Sabbath Day and live in such a way that they can keep their family progressing toward the mission field, the temple and exaltation.

The decision to serve a mission or to live the word of wisdom or to remain morally clean may well be a bigger decision – and one that will eternally impact more lives - than the decision to land Allied troops on Normandy or to slay Goliath. One wrong decision or one crossroad that we come to and stall for the lack of a decision could well spell doom over a single life who was destined to have a posterity as numerous as the ‘sands of the seashore’ and because of that decision - or lack of decision – that promised numerous progeny may either come to naught or be adopted into another family – a family lead by one who learned from Father Adam that Great Moral Leaders are the product of Great Moral Decision Makers.
Decision Time: It’s time to learn how to DECIDE and then DO IT!