Hey, I made it!

Hey, I made it safe and sound! I'm down here in the swamp now and I saw my first gator! It was awesome! We were out tracking and we climbed up a levee and out onto a bridge and saw a big old gator sitting on some plants floating in the water right below us. I didn't wrestle him because they don't like that down here, it's a federal crime to even touch them. It's already getting up to 80 plus degrees down here and everything is green, a big change from Idaho.

It is pretty run down here in Challmete since Katrina hit. There are still markings on the outside of our apartment where they went and inspected it looking for bodies. There are also empty lots where houses used to be and old run down buildings that just sit vacant after everything flooded.

People here say the spirt of the town has changed as well. Challmete was one of the worsed that hit since it sits 20 plus feet below sea level. People here say everyone is in a demoralized state ever since the storm. Only half the people came back to live. So the field is white and ready for harvest. People want happiness in their lives again and and we are here to show them how to have that.

Well, missionarry work is going good, at our first door we knocked on we committed a lady to baptism and she is already seeing how the gospel can bless families. She came to church and loved it. We just have to get her married before we can get her baptised or she will have to move out since she lives with her boyfriend.

I like my companion, he is the former AP so he's keeping me on a tight schedule. But he is and awesome missionary and can talk to anyone about anything and is really showing me the ropes. Well im not fat yet, probably cause there are hardly any members in the area we have. I've actually lost weight since I gained like 4 lbs in the MTC and I've lost almost 10 since I arrived down here. We have a car and hardly ever bike. The food is good I've had a couple poboys, one was shrimp and it was so good! People here are really nice for the most part. There is alot of classic southern hospitality.

Well, I look forward to everyone writing me, I can't email friends so I'm just gonna have this forwarded out or something.. so write!
My address is:

3701 Golden Street #3
Chalmette, LA 70128

And everyone going out on a mission, you may not love the MTC a whole lot, but it's not to bad. You will love getting out your comfort zone its different but I have grown already since I got down here.

Love Elder Ritchie